Edtech startup Edukemy backs up non-STEM students
India is a country where the importance of the STEM category is sky high and the non-STEM segment is supposedly a “selective and niche segment”. In India’s cluttered coaching landscape catering to everything from school and board-level preparations to a slew of competitive tests, a Delhi-NCR-based edtech startup, Edukemy, launched last year is focused on training non-science stream students to crack the civil services exams. The company has stepped in to build a tech-enabled standardised evaluation model for the non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) category to create personalised learning pathways for every student.
The company is a self-funded one which was launched by Chandrahas, along with Shabbir A Bashir and Deb Tripathi who graduated from the University College of Engineering in 1996. They all wanted to do something in education; in fact, Shabbir is a teacher, who has been running the education company SAB Learning Systems, which he co-founded in 2018. Each of them has around 20 years of work experience across the corporate and education sectors. Given that more than 12 million students from non-science streams enter college every year in India — according to the Department of Higher Education — there is market potential in guiding such UPSC aspirants and they targeted this market demand.
Eduekemy offers digital courses with doubt-solving interactive classes and digital mentoring with a learning model which is focused on a few key steps: pre-evaluation, where the needs of students are understood and a pathway laid for their growth; digital evaluations, comprising subjective and objective tests that enable students to understand how well they are prepared. Digital courses are offered in a range of subjects like geography, sociology, history, policy, economics, essay writing, and general studies. The focus is on curating processes and solutions rather than following a marketplace model. Edukemy charges Rs 22,500 for subscription to its content and teaching. The first batch had more than 300 students signing up in April last year for the IAS test prep course as per the founder and at present, the startup is a community with more than 5,000 subscribers. Even as the edtech sector has been flourishing in the country, especially since the lockdown early last year, Chandrahas says access and understanding of technology and internet penetration are still challenges, particularly in rural areas.
“Turning our passion into reality, we wanted to focus on IAS competitive exams and ultimately the government test prep segment. Our priority is to scale the learning experience for every student and offer an insightful and enriching environment. The focus is on personalisation by providing live, interactive, immersive, and democratised education in Tier-II and III cities.” says Chandrahas. This includes “pre-class, in-class, and post-class engagement models” for undergraduate and postgraduate students of arts, commerce, and law courses who want to clear the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams, adds Chandrahas.
Edukemy expects to close its first year with Rs 7-7.5 crore in revenue and the startup holds market competition with edtech companies such as BYJU’S, Gradeup, Testbook, and Unacademy that offer test guides and/or live learning platforms for civil services exams, among their other products.
