Lingawa, a Techstars-backed edtech startup, has undergone a significant transformation, pivoting from academic tutoring to language learning. The company, now rebranded as Lingawa from TopSet, aims to help people learn and master their native languages, starting with Yoruba and Igbo.
To support this new direction, Lingawa has secured $1.1 million in pre-seed funding. Zrosk, Voltron Capital, Weav Capital, Kaleo Ventures, MasterCard Foundation, and Angels like Guy Futi, and Dolapo Adejuyigbe led the round. The funds will be used to develop an interactive language learning app, expand into newer languages, and invest in more talent and development.
Founded in 2022 by Frank Williams, Yvonne Williams and Uche Azinge, Lingawa was created to help K-12 students improve by two letter grades from D’s to B’s or C’s to A’s, within a term.
Like most Edtech startups established on the continent, difficulty in scaling and getting parents to pay proved to be a huge roadblock, Williams, Co-founder and CEO of Lingawa said on a call with Condia.
In June 2023, the Edtech company began to tweak its thesis and delved into teacher training to hack the learning system. The outcome highlighted a language learning problem Williams had always ignored.
“I really wanted to learn the language but when I tried to speak with family and friends, they made fun of me. But I realised other people experienced this too, not just Africans.”
The global language learning market is expected to reach $190 billion in five years, while Williams believes there is a $45 billion addressable market for frontier market language learning alone.
This process led to a call for teachers but Williams soon discovered that finding a high volume of African language tutors could be complex. The company has opened up the supply side by upskilling native speakers and providing a detailed five-level curriculum for them to follow to teach paying online learners.
This is a significant achievement for Lingawa, as it secured funding during a challenging period for edtech startups. In 2023, many edtech companies struggled to raise funding, with the industry receiving only 1.4% of total venture capital investment in Africa, according to Disrupt Africa.
Lingawa would consider a slightly different approach to its business model. It will cater to the diaspora market where Williams believes 20 million Africans exist, but half of them do not speak their mother tongue. By targeting the diaspora market, the company can potentially generate substantial revenue in foreign currency, mitigating the impact of currency devaluation and economic instability in Nigeria.
The business model involves monthly subscription-based models, a bulk purchase, or a one-off introduction for new learners wanting a tease of the lessons. Tutors are paid an hourly rate adjusted for inflation, though Williams declined to share those metrics, maintaining that the trainers are a priority.
Lingawa also trialled a buy-now-pay-later option for tutors without devices, allowing them to purchase the necessary equipment and repay in installments using their earnings from the platform. According to Williams, they have maintained a zero percent default rate so far.
With a focus on the learners, teacher training, and a gamified learning experience, Lingawa aims to differentiate itself from language tutoring competitors like Izesan, Preply and italki.
The Edtech company has an ambitious plan to develop an African language learning AI model, reach a million learners in the long term and house 100,000 tutors. Additionally, it will launch more languages like Swahili, Zulu, Arabic in 2025. With cash injection from new backers, there is optimism on the horizon.
