Edtech Platform MicroDegree Raises Funding From RIIDL And Others The startup aims to democratize technology by offering learning in local languages with a focus on relevant technologies

By Prabhjeet Bhatla

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Unsplash

Mangalore-based edtech startup MicroDegree on Wednesday announced to have raised an undisclosed amount in a recent funding round that was led by marquee investors including Siddharth H. Somaiya, founder and chief executive officer, Organic Riot in an Individual capacity, and RIIDL (Research Innovation Incubation Design Labs).

MicroDegree is an online education platform, working towards democratizing IT and Job-ready skills for the Bharat market through vernacular courses.

"It is exciting to have big industry names back our vision. It encourages us to achieve our goals in the journey to empower local engineering talent from non-metro cities with foundational clarity of tech in vernacular language. Our mission is to connect them with the right opportunities at an affordable price. We believe a language shouldn't be a hindrance for anyone to fulfill their dreams. We will use the investment to further advance our technology to come up with more efficient solutions and expand our network," said Manikanta Nair, co-founder, MicroDegree.

MicroDegree was founded by Gaurav Kamath, Rakesh Kothari, and Manikanta Nair in 2019. The startup aims to democratize technology by offering learning in local languages with a focus on relevant technologies. The company aims to make emerging tech affordable for students and freshers across regions irrespective of their educational backgrounds and language.

"What is better than learning a skill like coding in your own language? I think Micro-degree will revolutionize up-skilling and making technology accessible to people who otherwise would not get access to that pedagogy due to a language barrier. I think this is a game-changer for Ed-tech in India and this solves a very Indian problem of language diversity and access to IT Skills," commented Siddharth H Somaiya, founder and chief executive officer, Organic Riot.

In India, there are students from different corners of the country pursuing engineering but their inability to be fluent in English has been a barrier stopping them from learning to program or code. MicroDegree has the vision to teach coding in a local language and instill job-ready skills in students and freshers with their online programs.

"It is a matter of pride that we are the first institutional investor in MicroDegree. We have complete faith that MicroDegree will play a pivotal role in providing people from non-metro cities with equal opportunities in technology," added Ninad Karpe, partner, 100X.VC.

Earlier this year, the edtech startup had received its first cheque from 100X.VC as part of the fund's Class 03 portfolio. The MicroDegree team had begun with teaching emerging technology through a boot-camp program and they effectively managed to scale up the idea to an online platform, increasing its reach and network. The platform had managed to get more than 2100 users in the first 75 days of its launch and is planning to enter new language markets beyond Kannada.

Wavy Line
Prabhjeet Bhatla

Former Staff

Related Topics

News and Trends

B2B Fintech platform BharatNXT Raises $1.2 Million Seed Fund

The funds will be utilized to invest in product development and expanding the team size by 4 times and enhancing the scalability of the core technology to accommodate ten times the current growth

Science & Technology

'We Were Sucked In': How to Protect Yourself from Deepfake Phone Scams.

Phone fraudsters are using AI to clone the voices of loved or trusted people to rip them off. Here's how to detect if the phone is real or robot.

Business News

Apple Just Unveiled Its VR Headset. What You Need to Know.

The Vision Pro is Apple's first major product launch since AirPods.

Growing a Business

Trendspotting 101 — How to Stay Ahead of the Curve in Your Industry

Learn how to spot and capitalize on emerging trends in your industry with these practical tips.

Science & Technology

How Deepfake Tech Could Affect the Journalism Industry

Deepfake technology adds another layer to navigate for journalists, which, if used ethically, could pave the way for new forms of storytelling.