According to a report, Brazilian government plans to get a third of its population aged between 18 and 24 into college by 2024. However, the same report pointed out that yearly growth in enrolment rates has barely reached 1% and the number of places in public universities has been dwindling, as has access to higher education loans provided by the government.
Given the current context, most Brazilian students opt to study in private institutions, which reportedly concentrate 75.3% of all enrolments, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Well, this brings opportunities for Quero Educação, an education technology company based in São José dos Campos, Brazil.
Seizing the opportunity, Quero Educação is geared up with its strategy to explore the goldmine of private education in Latin America and expand further to international markets.
The Brazilian educational startup facilitates access to private education through a marketplace, and provides a suite of management tools to sector institutions. Through its main product/marketplace called Quero Bolsa, the company guides the future students and helps them to choose the ideal college program at an affordable price for them.
Speaking on the need for higher education and the role of private institutions in facilitating the needs of the growing students, Renata Rebocho, Co-founder of Quero Educação, said,
“Even though the government is not present in some areas, it doesn’t mean that people need to stop studying: we are here to address that issue.”
Through Quero’s flagship product, institutions can list their vacant study places along with their tuition fees. Students can use a separate platform provided by the company to manage their financial affairs with the institutions. The startup aims to reach 600,000 enrolments in 2019.
Quero Educação has partnerships with over 6,000 higher education institutions and is now expanding its focus into the high school and primary school space. The startup is also reported to be targeting firms selling international exchange programs as well as language schools. Rebocho said that the potential market for the company is over 50,000 customers.
In the coming months, the company plans to expand into international markets, with Mexico as the starting point. The co-founder said,
“We wanted to do higher education very well then move to other countries. We are currently doing the preparations for a really impactful market entry.”
Quero is also investing heavily on an educational intelligence platform to help companies reduce university dropout rates. “In one place, we consolidate all the data about students, from admission all the way to the point they receive their diploma: such insights ensure that they graduate,” added Rebocho.
With its product suite, which offers functionality such as digital admission with facial recognition technology, Quero wants to make administrative offices of educational institutions a thing of the past and be just as disruptive within the education sector. The company is valued at about $600 million and is currently raising capital from domestic and foreign investors and plans an IPO within the next five years.
