Cakap, the leading online language learning platform in Indonesia, today announced its successful US$3 million Series A+ raise. The round was led by Heritas Capital with participation from Strategic Year Holdings and other prominent Investors. Existing investors including Investidea Ventures and Prasetia Dwidharma also followed-on in the round. The Series A+ raise wraps up a strong year for Cakap with the company achieving profitability despite the rough economic situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Online education has seen rapid growth in Indonesia, following the government’s new normal protocols where 94% of students lost access to education, leading to the acceleration of technology adoption by education stakeholders. Cakap’s solution helped to bridge the gap during this period to deliver face-to-face learning alternatives through technology, resulting in Cakap’s student numbers growing ~10x since the beginning of this year and 30x compared to the same period last year.
During COVID-19 situation, Cakap has established some major partnerships, including with the biggest Telco company in Indonesia, Telkomsel, and trusted by several government bodies such as: Ministry of ICT’s BAKTI and Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to provide online English training for hospitality and SME practitioners who were impacted by the economic downturn. The company also initiated several programs with Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association for Hoteliers Community, Telkomsel and Ministry of Education to empower students to study from home.
The EdTech startup has expanded to two major products, to the kids market with Cakap For Kids, a LIVE online English learning for kids aged 4-12 years old, as a solution for parents who won’t be able to send their children to offline tuition centres during “the new normal” situation. Another direction will be deepening the Cakap Upskill, a LIVE online course for broad learning topics, such as marketing and ICT related subjects.
“The key to our success during this pandemic is in our deep understanding of the Indonesian education landscape. Our solution SOLVES the problem of the lack of access to high quality education, not only for students in the big cities, but also for the whole ARCHIPELAGO of Indonesia, including 3rd tier cities and remote areas. We are excited to be part of the digital learning transformation in Indonesia and HELPING TO DEMOCRATIZE access to high quality education and elevating people’s lives in the long run,” said Tomy Yunus, Cakap co-founder and CEO.
Indonesia has one of the largest education systems in the world with over 3 million teachers across 300,000 schools. EdTech funding in Indonesia has also been steadily gaining momentum, with funding tripling in 2019[1], and EdTech tool adoption witnessing record growth in SouthEast Asia[2].
“Cakap has created a unique and relevant solution for the Indonesian market and there is no better time to scale with many Indonesians and students becoming more internet savvy day by day. The company offers a compelling impact proposition through providing access to affordable quality education and we look forward to working closely with the team to support the company in its journey to scale education solutions throughout Indonesia,” said Charis Goh, Director at Heritas Capital.
“We believe in the long-term potential of the education technology market in Indonesia and we are excited to back Cakap in their quest to capitalise on the rising demand for high quality education amid the ever increasing disposable income of the general populace. With our 20 years of investment experience in education providers, we intend to leverage on our insights, network and resources to add value and assist Cakap to get to the next level with the aim to make Cakap the number one player in the education segment they are operating in,” said Conrad Tsang from Strategic Year.
“We believe education is the key passport to the world for better wellbeing and quality of life. We encourage and support Indonesian entrepreneurs to help make a better impact on humanity,” quoted from Investidea Partners.
“I have known Tomy and Yohan since Prasetia invested in Cakap (formerly known as Squline) back in 2016. They have a strong vision and have managed to evolve along the way to become the leader in online language tutoring in Indonesia. From 2016 to 2019, the market for online education has grown rapidly, but in hindsight, it was a modest growth compared to 2020’s growth. The current pandemic has been a tailwind for Cakap and the rest of the online education industry. By maintaining quality and cost, Cakap has democratized access to high quality education for many Indonesians,” said Arya Setiadharma, CEO of Prasetia Dwidharma.
Rated 4.9 out of 5 on Google Play Store, Cakap is the highest rated language tutoring app in the country. The company intends to use the Series A+ funding to recruit more brilliant minds to the company, advance technology development, and for business expansion across Indonesia and the region following their expansion into the K-12 and vocational up-skilling markets.
SOURCE Cakap
