BrightCHAMPS, a next-generation life skills learning platform for kids, has announced the acquisition of Singapore-headquartered Schola, a live-learning platform for kids to master communication and English skills, in a $15 million cash & stock deal.
The acquisition will help Brightchamps in adding English speaking and communications verticals, a segment that will help it scale faster in its key markets–Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
Co-founded in 2019 by former senior Facebook executives, Aditya Gupta and Nhu Tran Le Thanh, Schola offers a variety of courses in a live, 1-on-1 class model for kids from 4 to 15 years of age to build important capabilities for successful global careers tomorrow. These skills include communications, public speaking, leadership presentation, confidence-building, and several others.
Speaking about the company and its mission, Co-founder & CEO of Schola, Aditya Gupta, said in a press statement:
“Schola’s mission is to build the world’s next generation of confident, creative and communicative kids. Far too many kids from countries and families that don’t speak English as their first language end up getting overlooked for higher education or career opportunities despite being perfectly qualified in every other way. Our goal is that lack of English proficiency should never again come in the way of a child’s dreams once they are touched by Schola.”
Gupta further added:
“We’re excited to join hands with BrightCHAMPS, given our shared ethos and purpose. We hope that the combination of BrightCHAMPS’ brand equity and our subject-matter expertise will help Schola lead the world in the communications live-learning space. We look forward to expanding our presence beyond the 12 countries we are currently operational in the months to come.”
In addition, Schola courses have been designed keeping in mind the particular needs of kids who are first-generation English speakers, with an emphasis on learning through real-life practice of spoken English. This has led to the company’s consistently industry-leading customer-satisfaction score of 9.6/10. The platform’s interactive and immersive curriculum is delivered by teachers who have TEFL or TESOL teaching certificates with native-level or equivalent English speaking proficiency. The company currently offers classes to students from 12 countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, and others.
Announcing the acquisition, Founder & CEO of BrightCHAMPS, Ravi Bhushan, said:
“We’re thrilled to welcome Schola to the growing BrightCHAMPS family. The ability to communicate confidently, coherently, and creatively is a crucial life-skill for kids and a prerequisite for success as an adult, and we’re excited to have the exceptionally talented Team Schola lead this charge with BrightCHAMPS. Given Schola’s profitability and sustainable growth approach with low cash-burn, we already know that there is great synergy between the two companies’ operating models. I am confident that with Aditya and Nhu at the forefront, not only will Schola deepen our presence in the 30+ countries we’re already operational in, but will also help us introduce BrightCHAMPS to many other parts of the world.”
BrightCHAMPS, started in July 2020 by an IIT-Varanasi graduate, Ravi Bhushan, aims to bridge the gap between school education and children’s real learning needs. It also aims to empower students to be technologically, financially, and socially smart by leveraging Invisible Learning to nurture the inner potential of every child. It’s methodology relies on play-based learning, and includes features like customised learning journeys, quizzing and parental dashboards.
The company boasts of astonishing completion rates of over 90%, renewals that exceed 80%, while maintaining an NPS of well over 70. It is currently operational in 30+ countries, including the US, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nigeria, and many others.
The deal comes on the heels of its $100mn investment war-chest announcement in June, and is in line with BrightCHAMPS’ vision of becoming the one-stop destination for all next-gen life skills for kids in the K-12 segment.
One of the fastest growing EdTech globally, BrightCHAMPS currently employs thousands of educators delivering 300k classes every month across its coding, financial literacy, and robotics verticals for kids between 6 to 16 years of age to help them become future-ready and thrive in a modern world. The startup is currently valued at $650 million, after raising $63 million from marquee names across geographies such as US-based GSV Ventures, Singapore-based BEENEXT, and Premji Invest and Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal-backed 021 Capital from India.
