Early Learning Edtech Platform, Nalanda Learning, Raises INR 40 Cr From Aavishkaar Capital

Nalanda Learning, a startup focused on early preschool education of kids has raised INR 40 Cr investment from Aavishkaar Capital.

Based out of Kolkata, Nalanda operates under the brand “Little Laureates”. After operating exclusively in  eastern India, the company has now set its sights on expanding nationally.

Speaking on this fresh investment, Tamal Mukherjee, CEO of Nalanda said, ”While the entire education sector has encountered significant headwinds on account of the pandemic, Nalanda continues to move forward and has developed the next generation learning solutions for kids at the foundation learning age.”

“We are accordingly witnessing very significant traction and receiving extremely encouraging responses from parents across India. This capital raise will help us in further enhancing our technology capabilities and improving our geographic reach to early learners and preschools across India.” Mukherjee added.

Given the unprecedented emergence of the Covid19 pandemic, India saw a boom of edtech startups within the last two years.

In 2020, Indian edtech startups received a total of $1434 Mn in funding, which was the fourth highest among all the sectors in the startup ecosystem. According to Inc42 Plus estimates, edtech startups raised more than $1.43 Bn across 101 deals between Jan 1 and Dec 17, 2020, witnessing a whopping 223.2% rise compared to the previous year. Interestingly, edtech was not even considered among the top five segments a year ago when it came to fundraising or deal volume.

Now, although edtech funding increased significantly, it largely involved industry giants. For instance, BYJU’S raised about 57% of the segment’s total funding, Unacademy raised about 10.4% and Vedantu raised 9.5%.

Slowly, even edtech startups operating in the early learning sector are appearing. Apart from Nalanda, Chennai based Flinto Learning Solutions, and Nazara backed Paper Boat Apps are other participants in this sector.

The edtech market is estimated to grow 3.7x in the next five years, from $2.8 Bn (2020) to $10.4 Bn (2025). Furthermore, with the growing adoption during the lockdown months, edtech services and products are expected to have an addressable base of 37 Mn-plus paid users by 2025.

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