AltSchool Africa, a Nigerian edtech that allow young Africans to learn highly sought after tech skills without hassle, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding.
The investment round has Nigerian entertainer, Folarin Falana (Falz); Flutterwave Founder, Olugbenga GB Agboola; Paystack Founder Shola Akinlade; Nigerian musician and rapper, Akitoye Balogun (Ajebutter), Pledges, Nestcoin and ODBA VC.
Launched in October 2021 by Yusuf Adewale (CEO), Akintunde Sultan and Opeyemi Awoyemi, AltSchool is on a simple mission to provide an education that equips students with skills and a certificate, all within a year.
This led to a partnership with the Michael and Cecilia Ibru University. Under this partnership, graduates of the programme get a diploma certificate at the end. To achieve this, AltSchool tutors participants for nine months, followed by a three-month internship.
Like most startups focused on providing tech skills, it adopts an income-sharing model where students do not have to pay for the tuition until they get a job. However, they have to pay an application fee of ₦10,000 ($20).
Following this fresh injection of capital, the startup will focus on content, growth, and building its technology, starting with its learning management system (LMS). The edtech also plans to launch its Schools of Product, Data, and Blockchain in Q2 2022.
When these schools launch, they will offer courses in product design, product management, and product marketing, amongst others.
AltSchool’s School of Engineering currently runs three courses: frontend engineering, backend engineering, and cloud engineering.
Participants in the program would need to have a high school certificate and be computer literate, the company specified on its website.
When students apply to the program, they are provided with a home study kit in preparation for an assessment test. Those admitted into the school, meeting a pass mark of 85%, will take a software engineering course with three tracks: frontend engineering, backend engineering and cloud engineering. It’s a one-year program where students take classes for nine months (three semesters) followed by a three-month internship at a local tech companies to gain experience.
AltSchool employs an income-sharing agreement (ISA), so when students complete the program and get hired, they’re expected to pay $500, which can be paid in full or installments — $50 over 10 months or $100 over five months.
However, Yusuf explained that AltSchool might do away with the ISA model for the next batch.
Instead, the company may use a subscription model, where students pay between $20-$50 monthly for the duration of their program.That said, AltSchool makes provision for those who don’t get admitted into its program. They can access the platform’s first-semester content for free and practice. If they stick to the end of the three-month curriculum, AltSchool will provide avenues for them to complete the entire nine-month program.
Following this investment, the startup will focus on content, growth, and building its technology, starting with its learning management system (LMS). The edtech also disclosed that the it will launch its Schools of Product, Data, and Blockchain in Q2 2022.
“You might need a BSc if you want to be a doctor or nurse and some of these other skills. But when it comes to being a software engineer or digital skills, you really don’t,” said the CEO Yusuf.
“We need to find a shortcut for people, whereby they will be able to make money and provide for their family and add value to the economy. That’s one of the reasons we launched AltSchool because if a lot of people can have marketable skills, then I think we can solve a massive problem in the market.”
