Prepdia, a Cameroonian startup, has expanded to Gabon after experiencing significant growth in its home market. Prepdia helps students improve their outcomes by securely connecting them with qualified tutors for in-person and online courses.
By connecting students with qualified tutors for in-person and online classes, Prepdia enables students to achieve better results.
Prepdia was founded in 2019 with the aim of helping consumers connect with a dependable, nearby tutor who has been thoroughly vetted swiftly and effectively.
About 1,200 students have been matched with over 400 tutors around the nation due to this service, which has also made it possible to sell more than 75,000 hours of tutoring.
It has also started expanding into the rest of Francophone Africa, beginning with Gabon, where there are now more than 50 tutors registered. This expansion is still in its early stages. The startup has been self-funded up until this point, but it is mulling over the possibility of conducting a fund-raising campaign in the not-too-distant future in order to assist it in achieving its expansion goals in the region.
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The Aim of Prepdia
Malieh Maxime, who dropped out of school in 2015 and founded the company based on his own personal experiences, said that he believes the company is in a good position to help thousands of people in Africa gain access to qualitative educational assistance on the formation of right partnerships.
In his words, “It has been really amazing to see how we took an idea to this level with this type of impact, with no funding yet. I believe that we are well positioned to help thousands of Africans gain access to quality educational assistance with the right partnerships.”
The Inspiration behind Prepdia
Maxime wanted to be an engineer, but his parents couldn’t afford it. He assured his parents he could support himself by tutoring. He moved to Douala after passing the engineering entrance exam but couldn’t locate a home class to teach in the first year.
In his words, “I aspired to be an engineer but my parents told me they couldn’t afford it. I told my parents I would be able to take care of myself by tutoring others. I passed the engineering entrance exam and moved to Douala, but couldn’t find a home class to teach in the first year.”
The following year, a friend of his connected him with a parent who was looking for a tutor. He was astounded by the joy and satisfaction the parent displayed upon discovering a tutor for their child.
That’s when he came to the realisation that, in addition to the numerous enthusiastic young people who are looking for home classes to teach, many parents are also having trouble locating tutors.
However, there was not a single forum available that brought together the two distinct groups of people.
Maxime said, “Learners and parents of these learners do not go online looking for tutors. It is not yet the case in Cameroon.”
Learners and their parents have a difficult time locating tutors and making connections with them. If the learner or parent is concerned about the level of quality, the task becomes even more challenging. They have been aching for a straightforward means by which they can connect with, learn from, and pay qualified tutors. On the other hand, private tutors can’t wait to pass on their expertise and experience to their students while also earning a living in the process.
After getting off to a strong start in Cameroon, Prepdia is now moving forward with plans to expand throughout the region in order to address these issues.