Kukua, an Edtech startup with operations in Africa, has secured a $2.5 million seed round led by EchoVC partners. So, the startup joins LifeBank, Cellulant, Hotels.ng, Printivo and more, among EchoVC's portfolio.
Kima Ventures, Founders Factory, Burda Principal Investments and Firstminute Capital also participated in the round. Additionally, angels like Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen - a former VP of mobile at Uber and Dropbox - also participated.
Kukua is "building a pan-African education franchise to address child illiteracy, one of the most pressing issues in the continent."
Currently, Sema, Kukua’s media property - an animated character who’s a young and resourceful African heroine with “an extraordinary purpose” - defines the franchise.
Today, Kukua has built a host of game-based educational apps that cover 3 years of primary school curriculum. With them, children learn how to read, write and do basic math.
According to Firstminute Capital, at least 30,000 children in Kenya use the Sema app three times a week, for an average of 30 minutes. These have shown significant improvements in their letter sounds recognition in Early Grade Reading Assessments.
Founded in 2014 by Lucrezia Bisignani (CEO), the Kukua team is spirit between London, Italy and Nairobi.