While the edtech boom has been centered primarily on students and teachers, it is important to remember that educators are also learners. Doyobi, a Singapore-based platform for professional development, hopes to provide educators with new and more engaging ways to teach STEM subjects. Monks Hill Ventures led pre-Series B funding of $2.8 million was announced by the startup today.
Tresmonos Capital was included, Novus Paradigm Capital was also involved, as well as angel investors such Carousell chief executive Officer Quek Siu Rui and Glints cofounders Oswald Yeo, Seah Ying Cong, and Grab Financial Group head Reuben Lai.
About 2,000 teachers across 10 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East use the platform for teacher training and interactive content. The Philippines and Indonesia are its two largest markets. Doyobi has partnerships established with educational platforms Leap Surabaya and Coderacademy as well as private schools such HighScope Indonesia and Mutiara Harapan Islamic School, and Stella Gracia School.
Doyobi was established in 2020 by Saturday Kids, an educational program that focuses on STEM. TechCrunch was told by John Tan, co-founder and CEO of Saturday Kids, that despite being able to reach thousands of students per year for eight years, the program was not reaching enough children. However, there are millions of STEM-focused kids all over the globe.
There is a huge gap between what schools teach and what children need in order to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow. He said that empathy, imagination, and curiosity are as important as literacy and numeracy skills. While teachers play an important role in shaping learning outcomes and many edtech innovations remove the teacher from the classroom, they are still a major part of the equation.
He said that while many governments recognize the importance of STEM skills in economic growth, many struggle to integrate them into their curriculums. Doyobi hopes to address this problem by reaching students through teachers.
The startup also offers live video lessons for teachers and developed a virtual learning environment that educators can use with children. The course links new skills to real-world applications, interactive media and Scratch programming projects to reinforce the lessons students have learned in class. Doyobi also manages an online community called Teachers As Humans, where educators can get peer support.
This startup will use the new funding to create additional courses for educators and teaching resources such as videos, quizzes, and projects for their students.
