EduSpaze announces fifth cohort of startups to drive innovation in learning environments

EduSpaze, the leading Singapore-based education technology accelerator, welcomes the addition of nine new early-stage companies joining its accelerator programme. This is the fifth cohort to join the successful edtech accelerator programme, as they continue to spearhead EdTech innovation in the region.

As part of the three-month virtual programme, cohort participants will receive up to a S$1 million investment, mentor support, a unique accelerator programme, and an environment to implement pilot projects within the region. The goal is to help the cohort participants accelerate their progress in developing and honing their market fit, product development, scalability as well as revenue generation and attraction of further investments.

Alex Ng, Managing Director of EduSpaze shared, “Over the last few years, we have continued to see great strides in education and especially edtech. The adoption of digital solutions is continually on the rise, and we continue to see impressive innovation from startups across the region. The investment in edtech development from established and traditional education institutes is also on the rise, highlighting the growing acceptance that edtech is solving a real-world problem in education.”

EduSpaze is managed by seed capital firm and startup incubator Spaze Ventures and supported by Enterprise Singapore. Being selected, these startups are joining the legacy of previous cohort participants such as Skilio, LingoTalk, ACKTEC Technologies and AkadAsia, who have successfully raised funds from EduSpaze and other partners.

Driving engagement and interaction to encourage meaningful learning

Education has rapidly evolved in today’s digital era. The use of educational technologies (EdTech) in the classroom has become ubiquitous with the digital transformation of the classroom, especially in the wake of virtual and remote learning. While in-person classes have resumed in many schools, educators are still faced with the challenge of effectively engaging students and creating a suitable learning environment that facilitates meaningful learning.

“Traditional education has often followed a formulaic approach to learning, focusing on the content delivery of surface-level understanding, resulting in students who are merely passively engaged. However, through the use of innovative pedagogies and strategies, students can delve beyond to a deeper understanding and engagement to utilise the use of higher-order thinking capabilities and lay the foundation for an enjoyable learning journey, no matter the subject matter.

“To many students, learning may seem like a chore or something they have to do for a grade, and thus they dread school or are unable to fully connect with the lessons, feeling overwhelmed with all the assignments and assessments. However, giving students a reason to enjoy learning, something to look forward to in class not only makes it a more positive learning environment but empowers students to take ownership and accountability for their own learning,” said Ng.

“To cope and deal with the fast-changing world, students today have a multitude of challenges,” said Mark Stanley, CEO of Scribo Holdings.

responsibilities and expectations. One of the key tools they should have in their arsenal is their mindset. As educators, we’re in a prime position to help them develop a mindset that sets them on the path to success, equipping them with the tools and strategies necessary to navigate beyond the lessons in the classroom.”

With the cohort consisting of various offerings to help educators provide more interactive and better engaging learning opportunities for their students, this particular group of startups are setting out to make a meaningful impact on the learning environments of students today.

Identifying improvements through assessments

“Assessments are a key strategy for educators to better evaluate student understanding of a particular subject matter and are a vital aspect of their pedagogies. The objective of an assessment is not to judge whether a student is smart or not; instead, it is to assess how the overall student(s) learning can be improved.

“Given our use of technology to help create tailored assessment instruments, we related strongly to EduSpaze’s combination of tech and pedagogy to deliver an enhanced learning experience. We hope this partnership continues to hone the pedagogical effectiveness of our solution to provide a better assessment experience for both educators and students alike.” shared Dipo Satria, Chief BD Officer of EduPrime.

EduSpaze is Singapore’s first edtech accelerator supported by Enterprise Singapore, the enterprise development agency. It aims to nurture a vibrant edtech startup ecosystem that serves the education sector in Singapore and Southeast Asia. EduSpaze helps early-stage edtech startups go to market, accelerate their growth, and co-innovate with other stakeholders in the space. The new accelerator supports companies that address sector-specific challenges with innovative solutions to improve learning outcomes and the impact of education. EduSpaze is part of Spaze Ventures.

Spaze Ventures is a seed capital firm that provides seed funding and mentorship to the founders of early-stage startups. It has operated a sector-agnostic startup incubator since 2014 and has a portfolio of more than 40+ startups. After five years of supporting the startup ecosystem and educating founders of early-stage startups, it has established a strong network of partners including many educational institutions. Spaze Ventures launched EduSpaze as a dedicated edtech initiative in 2019.

Enterprise Singapore is the government agency championing enterprise development. We work with committed companies to build capabilities, innovate and internationalise. We also support the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups and build trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards.

Featured image: Sushiman, iStock.