Nigerian online teaching platform Klas has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding led by Ingressive Capital, with participation from Techstars, HoaQ Capital, and several angel investors.Some investors in that round include founders of Nigerian tech startups like Piggyvest’s Odun Eweniyi and Spleet’s Tola Adesanmi.
Founded in 2022 by Nathan Nwachuku and Lekan Adejumo, Klas enables users to create and sell ebooks, courses, and live classes provides essential class components such as scheduling, payments, community features, analytics, and video conferencing, catering to various subjects from coding and design to finance, art, and languages.
Commenting on the funding Managing Director of Techstars Toronto, Sunil Sharma said, “It has been a rewarding experience to have invested in Klas at the earliest stage of the company based on the core abilities of the co-founders Nathan and Lekan and the vision they set for the company. This confidence was further demonstrated by our follow-on investment in the company, something we like to do when presented with exceptional opportunities,” he said.
Klas has a user base of over 5,000 online schools (creators), which have earned “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on the platform according to Nwachuku, and 300,000 learners spanning over 30 countries. While it is part of a rare group of African startups serving a global audience, the majority of its users are based in Nigeria.
Currently facilitating transactions in naira for Nigerian users and dollars for those outside Nigeria, the edtech startup aims to amplify its international presence, focusing on India, its second-largest market and North America, where the incumbent players in the industry have the bulk of their customer base. The move aligns with the startup’s strategy to address currency devaluation concerns, and it includes plans to enhance user experiences through localized currency options in various countries.
Klas, aiming to power up to 100,000 online schools globally by 2027, presently provides a free plan with a 5% transaction fee. Although positioned as a cost-effective alternative to other platforms like Kajabi and Thinkific (whose prices range between $49-$399), Klas, in a bid to boost its revenues, may become as pricey in the coming months, introducing an enterprise product targeted at upskilling employees in large companies at $199 per month.