Nigerian edtech startup Edukoya officially announced its decision to shut down operations on Wednesday after operating for nearly three years.
Despite raising $3.5 million in pre-seed funding in 2021, the largest of its kind in Africa at the time, the company faced insurmountable challenges that led to this decision.
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Edukoya’s challenges in scaling operations
Edukoya cited several key challenges that hindered its ability to scale, including market readiness issues, widespread connectivity problems, limited device access, and low disposable income among its target audience.
These factors made mass-market adoption difficult despite the company’s efforts to redefine online K-12 learning in Africa by providing digital education content and online tutoring.
As stated in their email to stakeholders, “In many ways, Edukoya was too early for its time—the infrastructure and economic conditions needed to support our vision at scale simply aren’t yet in place across our target markets”.
The company’s founder and CEO, Honey Ogundeyi, had previously highlighted the stark contrasts between Nigeria’s education system and that of the West, noting, “Even the most brilliant students can be let down by the system”.
Despite these challenges, Edukoya achieved notable milestones, with over 80,000 students using its platform, more than 15 million questions answered, and thousands of daily live classes conducted.
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Edukoya’s strategic decision to return investment
Edukoya explored various options, including partnerships, mergers, and business model pivots, before deciding to wind down operations and return capital to investors. This decision was made to avoid depleting resources in a challenging market.
The company stated, “Rather than exhaust resources in an unsupportive market, we have made the difficult decision to shut down and return capital to investors. This strategic shutdown… ensures better outcomes for all stakeholders”.
The move reflects edtech startups’ broader struggles in Africa, where scaling remains challenging due to poor infrastructure and economic instability.
