Shikho, a Bangladeshi startup, raises $1.3m in funds to expand access to education

Shikho, an education technology company, has announced the completion of a $1.3 million seed round of financing, the largest fund raised by a Bangladeshi edtech startup.

The round was led by Anchorless Bangladesh, a New York-based early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to Bangladesh, and LearnStart, the seed fund of Silicon Valley-based edtech investment specialists Learn Capital, Shikho said in a statement on Tuesday. It also had participation from Southeast Asia-focused venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners and Ankur Nagpal, founder and CEO of a leading American edtech called Teachable.

This is the first time Wavemaker Partners has invested in a Bangladeshi venture and the sixth deal for Anchorless Bangladesh since 2020.

Founded in April 2019, Shikho is building a digital learning ecosystem centred on modernising the delivery of the Bangladeshi National Curriculum. It utilises multi-layered gamification and modern methods to make online learning “enjoyable, engaging, and effective” for students of classes 9-12, the company said. 

Shikho’s app includes access to animated video lessons, a library of in-app questions and solutions, along with interactive features for collaboration among peers.

The outbreak of the pandemic has presented the education sector with significant challenges and opportunities. Widespread school closures across the world to reduce the spread of the virus brought about a revolution in remote learning, yet those who are already marginalised with limited or no online access were left even further behind.

“Although half of the 165 million people in Bangladesh are below the age of 25, there is a clear lack of quality online educational resources for students and young professionals. By building a digital learning ecosystem that caters to the modern Bangladeshi student and democratises access to a world-class and enjoyable learning experience, we believe Shikho will have a powerful and lasting impact for generations to come,” said Shahir Chowdhury, co-founder and CEO of Shikho.

“As an experienced teacher, I understand the importance of personalised instruction and differentiated learning. This combined with regular feedback is the most powerful tool a teacher has at their disposal. With this round of investment, we look forward to furthering the technology that brings these features into an automated personalisation engine and the platform as a whole,” said Zeeshan Zakaria, co-founder and COO of Shikho.

“Improving access to the highest quality, most compelling digital learning experiences are essential for the future. We have witnessed the potential for technology to transform education all around the world and are excited to see Shikho do the same for Bangladesh,” said Don Burton, managing partner of LearnStart, an early investor in Shikho.

“Bangladesh has one of the largest allocations of private education expenditure as a percentage of disposable income in the world but lags behind countries like India and Indonesia when it comes to edtech funding. The market is primed for growth, and we believe the team at Shikho is well-fit to lead the charge and take education to the next level,” said Rahat Ahmed, founding partner and CEO at Anchorless Bangladesh.

Prior to this round of financing, Shikho raised $275,000 in pre-seed financing from LearnStart and strategic angel investors. Shikho is available on the Play Store.