Nigerian education technology startup, Edukoya, has officially ceased operations after three years, citing market challenges that made scaling its online learning platform unsustainable.
The company, which made headlines in 2021 for securing Africa’s largest pre-seed funding of $3.5 million, announced it would return remaining capital to investors rather than continue operating in what it described as an unsupportive market environment.
“Edukoya encountered significant market readiness challenges in scaling our synchronous learning model,” the company stated in an email to stakeholders.
Despite onboarding over 80,000 students, answering more than 15 million questions, and conducting thousands of daily live classes, Edukoya faced fundamental obstacles including poor internet connectivity, limited access to devices, and declining disposable income among its target audience.
Founded by Honey Ogundeyi, Edukoya aimed to revolutionize K-12 education across Africa by providing digital curriculum content and connecting students with on-demand teachers. The platform quickly gained traction, becoming Nigeria’s second most downloaded education app during its debut week.
Before shutting down, the company explored various alternatives including partnerships, mergers, and business model pivots, but ultimately found no viable path forward.
An unnamed investor praised Ogundeyi’s decision to return capital, noting it “demonstrates an ability to recognise when market forces make VC-scale outcomes unviable,” thus maintaining investor confidence in the ecosystem.
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While Edukoya’s closure highlights the challenges facing Africa’s edtech sector, analysts remain optimistic about the industry’s future. The African edtech market is projected to reach $57 billion by 2030, representing a significant portion of the continent’s expected $740 billion education spending.
Industry experts suggest that improvements in internet connectivity and digital infrastructure will eventually create more favorable conditions for edtech platforms to thrive across Africa.
