Vah Vah!, an online vocational education company offering professional makeup and beauty courses, recently announced it has raised $1.85 million in a seed funding round led by Sequoia Capital India’s accelerator program Surge.
Founded in 2020, Vah Vah! is on a mission to educate and prepare India’s young and dynamic population job-ready by offering job-specific vocational courses. The startup currently offers professional courses in makeup and hairstyling, with plans to expand to other vocational skill sets. Vah Vah!’s courses are designed for those looking to build a career or run their own entrepreneurial service business.
Speaking about the company, Shailesh Daxini, Co-founder, Vah Vah!, said,
“We want to bring the best teachers to every corner of India, and raise the quality of education in overlooked sectors that have the potential to create the next 100 million jobs. The shortfall of vocational schools means that vocational training is often inaccessible or too costly for many – making it especially challenging for those who live outside of metropolitan areas looking to upskill themselves. With Vah Vah!, anyone with a mobile phone and an internet connection can now access quality vocational education.”
Vah Vah!’s courses are offered in small batches, and all the students are sent well-designed learning kits with all the material they need to complete the course. Each of the courses is a 22-day comprehensive training program. The company onboard experienced beauty industry professionals who undergo further training before they teach on the platform. Vah Vah! also offers career counseling and one-on-one Q&A time with the trainers.
According to Eashwar Subbiah, Co-founder, Vah Vah!, the beauty sector in India is expected to grow at 30% CAGR, and workforce requirements have doubled, citing the National Skill Development Council of India. “The majority of our students enroll with the ambition to learn new skills to create earning opportunities for themselves in the industry, so there is a real need in the market from both employees and employers for such services,” he said.
The startup offers an international curriculum with a 360° syllabus that takes learners from amateur to being a professional, regular practice and live feedback, as well as job placement. Vah Vah! claims to have trained and successfully certified more than a thousand students on its platform.
Vah Vah! is part of Surge’s fifth cohort of 23 companies that have developed new digital solutions to help companies and individuals work, live, and learn better in a rapidly evolving Southeast Asian landscape.
