Where Are The Caribbean EDTech Startups?

While everyone was pretty much declaring the summer over, and that we are now officially in back to school mode, this question, ran across my mind. Where are our Caribbean EDtech Startups?

I remember doing both a list of Top 25 Caribbean Startups to Watch in 2015 and I had two EDtech startups on that list. I remember also, doing a blog post on how our two major Caribbean Telecom companies – Digicel and Flow/Cable & Wireless, had jumped into the EDtech business to compete with the startups there. Both acquired pioneers in the space to offer the service directly to their customers.

So, with that question in mind, and with that little bit of background, I went to do a quick and dirty status check for Caribbean EDtech startups, who are innovating in the Caribbean Education industry. In short,here is what is what I found. A few startups are in the dead pool, the telecom companies that own EDtech brands, are still operating though quietly and four Caribbean EDtech startups are still in the game.

The four startups still in the game are:

Edufocal.com

Founded six years ago in Jamaica by Gordon Swaby, EduFocal pioneered gamification  in eduction in the Caribbean. The online platform, brands itself as a social learning community that offers over 15,000 preparatory questions for the PEP and CSEC programmes, presented in a manner akin to popular role-playing games (RPG). As students go through and complete the questions on EduFocal’s website, they are rewarded with experience points which allows them to ‘level up’. The more experience points students get and the higher up in levels they go, they will be able to unlock rewards.

EZLearner

Still online after being founded in 2010 by Barbadian Entrepreneur Troy Weeks. It is an online learning platform that Helps schools integrate classroom technology to enhance the teaching and learning of students aged 8-12.

NotesMaster.com

Still online and servicing the Caribbean and a couple of African countries such as Namibia and Botswana. NotesMaster founded n 2010 by Jamaican Dean Dundas.  NotesMaster describes itself as an “e-learning platform for secondary level students. The platform enables students and educators, from different countries, to learn and share materials, using familiar syllabus frameworks that reflect their own curriculum.

Then since June 2007, CaribbeanTutors.com (the region’s first online school) has taught thousands of students in 12 Caribbean nations, with the largest enrolments coming from Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana. These students are primarily 15 to 18 year-olds studying any number of up to 13 CXC (Caribbean Examinations Council) subjects. ( Source a 2010 SiliconCaribe blog post.) CaribbeanTutors offers Private Tuition for CXC CAPE SEA and SAT.

Additionally,over the last 8 years, there has been sites and services such as Caribbean Elearning and One-on-One Educational Services. Since writing about them in 2011, CaribbeanCampus.com has since hit the dead pool.

The other question I am left to ask is…why aren’t there more Caribbean EDtech startups? As it is a forgone conclusion that the education system is outdated and is in need of major disruption.

Our students now need to learn new digital skills that will make them relevant and able to either get jobs or create their own. So, why aren’t more Caribbean Entrepreneurs not rushing to solve what we all know as a glaring skills and talent problem?