Klas, a Nigerian-based online education platform, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to boost access to quality education globally.
The funding was led by Ingressive Capital, with participation from Techstars, HoaQ Capital, and several angel investors, according to a statement on Tuesday.
“It has been a rewarding experience to have invested in Klas at the earliest stage of the company based on the core abilities of the co-founders Nathan and Lekan and the vision they set for the company,” Sunil Sharma, managing director of Techstars Toronto, said.
“This confidence was further demonstrated by our follow-on investment in the company, something we like to do when presented with exceptional opportunities,” he added.
Nathan Nwachuku, co-founder and CEO of Klas, said the company currently boasts a user base of over 5,000 online schools (creators), which have earned ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars’ on the platform and 300,000 learners spanning over 30 countries.
“While it is part of a rare group of African startups serving a global audience, the majority of its users are based in Nigeria.”
In 2021, the startup raised an angel round of $180,000, with which it launched the platform and got into the Techstars Accelerator program the following year.
Some investors in that round include founders of Nigerian tech startups like Piggyvest’s Odun Eweniyi and Spleet’s Tola Adesanmi.
Klas was founded in 2022 by Nathan Nwachuku and Lekan Adejumo, Klas enables users to create and sell ebooks, courses, and live classes.
It offers class components such as scheduling, payments, community features, analytics, and video conferencing, catering to various subjects from coding and design to finance, art, and languages.
