Rocket Skills, an edtech platform for learning skills that bring a high positive impact on businesses, has raised USD 300k (INR 2.2 crores) in pre-seed funding, led by Better Capital, First Cheque and Titan Capital.
The round also saw participation from renowned angel investors Harpreet Singh Grover (founder, Co-cubes), Aprameya (founder, Taxi for Sure and Koo), Abhinav Jain (founder, Shop101) and, Pravin Jadhav (ex-CEO Paytm Money, founder Raise).
According to the company statement, the fresh funds will be utilized in improving their product offerings and expanding the program to other sectors.
Rocket Skills claims to be a first-of-its-kind platform building the next generation of entrepreneurs through a variety of courses and mentorship programmes.
The platform’s quest to deliver “high-quality, no-frills learning” to anybody with an internet connection is corroborated by the carefully curated list of experts who design and deliver courses with a precise, step-by-step learning approach and live video sessions for one-on-one Q&A and periodic discussions.
Started in 2020 by Mohit Jain and Vibhu Bahuguna, the Gurgaon based startup aims to help aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses with the resources to start a business and help contribute to the government’s vision of “Aatmanibhar Bharat”.
With a focus on India’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), Rocket Skills is currently working with agri-entrepreneurs and equipping them with the knowledge of building a business through content curated by qualified experts. In addition to this, the company is building intermediate courses directed towards several aspects of the business life cycle such as logistics, procurement, marketing & sales.
Announcing the funding, Founder and CEO of Rocket Skills, Mohit Jain said, “Rocket Skills is on a mission to help people start their small business and by bridging the knowledge and accessibility gap in an affordable manner. We are delighted by our investor’s faith in achieving this goal as we embark on our quest to create millions of new entrepreneurs in the country.”
Currently focussed on providing agriculture education, the company plans to widen its course base with a larger audience.
Rocket Skills is helping small businesses with access to specialized online training modules in topics such as Organic Farming Business, Mushroom Farming, Apiculture, Biofloc Fish Farming, Hydroponics and several other modern farming techniques. It also offers personalised support as well as industry recognised certificates upon completion of each program.
Vaibhav Domkundwar of Better Capital has also responded to the latest move, saying “MSME upskilling is a major white space and has the potential to dramatically improve the productivity and profitability of millions of MSMEs in India. Rocket’s laser focus on this opportunity is super exciting and we are glad to partner with Mohit and Vibhu from Day 1.”
Harpreet Singh Grover, Founder and Author who is also one of the participants in this round commented, “Rocketskills is probably the most unique EdTech that I have seen in the last 1 year. Being built for a Bharat which is aspiring to do their own business, earn money and grow in life. Mohit and Vibhu are in it for the long term.”
Through the platform, the startup is addressing the gap between the growth potential of the MSME sector and the lack of infrastructure in the country. By building a tight-knit community of entrepreneurs, the company is helping businesses become profitable and contributing towards the promotion of inclusive growth.
Within six months of its operations, the company has generated great interest from Tier II and III cities with over 10,000 paid customers, of which many are running self-sustained agri-businesses.
