Teky Alpha, a Vietnamese educational technology startup, has raised $5 million in a funding round led by Singapore-based impact investment firm Sweef Capital. Existing investor Strategic Year Holdings, a Hong Kong-based investment business focused on education, also backed the round. According to the company’s announcement, the platform will use this funding to expand its services in Vietnam’s public school system and after-school programs for children aged five to 18.
Founded in 2016 by Dao Lan Huong, Teky Alpha delivers science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics (STEAM) education. It operates 16 STEAM coaching academies in five cities and partners with more than 45 schools nationwide to deliver STEAM courses to over 25,000 children.
Speaking about the latest development, the Founder of Teky Alpha, Dao Lan Huong, said:
I’m excited about our expansion plan to open more STEAM centres across the country in the next two years and the prospects of a partnership with public schools to integrate the STEAM curriculum and increase accessibility. Vietnamese education must keep pace with these significant shifts so that the future workforce can seize the opportunities of the Industry 4.0 era.
The company plans to expand rapidly in the coming years by opening up 40 new educational centres and hundreds of Teky STEAM labs at schools by 2024. With this growth, it aims to become the leading EdTech business in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia.
Jennifer Buckley, Founder & Managing Director of Sweef Capital, added:
We see this investment as contributing great foundational skills to children, some of whom currently have limited exposure to STEAM. We share Ms Huong’s vision of helping more young girls see what’s possible, take up education, and pursue professional STEAM careers. We look forward to building on this partnership with Teky and working with them to demonstrate value-creation opportunities linked with women’s economic empowerment.
This marks Sweef Capital’s first investment from its Southeast Asia Women’s Economic Empowerment Fund. The company is also expected to support the expansion of Teky’s network of academies, furthering the development of its digital platform and the integration of a STEAM curriculum in public schools. This will enable overall reach and provide more students with an avenue to improve their critical thinking and acquire marketable employment skills and foundational capabilities for overall educational achievement.
Buckley also acknowledged Sweef Capital’s partners, including Pædagogernes Pension (PBU), UN ESCAP, the Emerging Market Impact Investment Fund (EMIIF), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), for their contributions.
