Curiositi brings Affordable & Exciting Activity-Based Learning to Schools
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mber 16, 2014. Bangalore: Unitus Ventures, India’s leading venture seed fund supporting startups innovating for the masses, announced that it has led the seed round investment in Curiositi, a Bangalore-based education startup. Curiositi partners with schools to affordably transform their science curriculum into an exciting, activity-based experience. Curiositi maps the school’s science curriculum to its portfolio of over 80 Science Activity Kits, and delivers these kits so that students explore activities related to the topic they are currently studying. Activity-based learning is proven to improve outcomes – Curiositi delivers these outcomes affordably and predictably.
Building the next generation of scientists
The 17-month old startup began marketing its program in January 2014 and since then has tied-up with 26 schools across 6 locations, delighting over 6000 students and receiving commitments for over 9000 kits. “When doing early trials, the excitement from teachers and students convinced us that science has to be learnt by exploring” says Co-Founder Manoj Thandassery. “The challenge was to do it in a manner that delivers impact, affordability and convenience to schools, while being scalable as a business model.” Curiositi’s program can be tailored to all budgets, yet delivers high quality activities covering 80 topics across all branches of science. “The response from schools has been overwhelming” says co-founder Vinod Abraham, “Our school principals love how it effortlessly integrates with their curriculum, while school owners appreciate that science is transformed without the need for labs, storage space, internet access or capital expense. This allows us to offer the program across the price-spectrum, including Affordable Private Schools (APS) that otherwise have no options beyond the text-book.”
Improving Affordable Private Schools
India’s more than 3 lakh Affordable Private Schools that currently serve more than 40 percent of India’s school age children represent a significant market opportunity. “While the APS segment grows in numbers, it also needs to grow in quality,” said Srikanth Iyer, venture partner at Unitus Ventures. “Curiositi is the first of our 4 education portfolio companies focused on delivering improved learning outcomes for APS schools. We’re excited to back Curiositi and help them put their affordable and effective science kits in the hands of millions of students over the coming years.”
Unitus Capital was the financial advisor and Impact Law Ventures was the legal advisor on this transaction, advising Unitus Ventures.
About Curiositi
Curiositi is focused on delivering innovative and impactful educational solutions to schools across the price spectrum. Curiositi is headquartered in Bangalore, India and was co-founded by Vinod Abraham and Manoj Thandassery in July 2013. Vinod is an alumnus of IIM-Bangalore and Manoj is an alumnus of XLRI and both have over 15 years of experience in Engineering, Marketing, Sales and Operational roles across 4 countries. More about Curiositi >
About Unitus Ventures
Unitus Ventures is the leading venture seed fund supporting startups innovating for the masses in India. Unitus invests in healthcare, education, mobile commerce & value-added services, marketplaces & e-commerce, retail & distribution, agriculture, and water & energy sectors. Founded in 2012, Unitus Ventures is part of the Unitus Group, a premier financial services group operating in India and other emerging markets since 2000. Unitus Ventures is based in Bangalore and Seattle. More about Unitus Ventures >
