Rising Academies is delighted to announce the close of a $4.25m Series A investment led by Klett Kita & Schule, part of one of Europe’s largest education companies, the Klett Group. Joining the round are UBS Optimus Foundation, King Philanthropies Inc, Dovetail Impact Foundation and Solon Capital Holdings, all of whom are strengthening multi-year relationships with Rising through their participation in the Series A funding round.
Rising, a Certified B Corporation® co-founded by Paul Skidmore and Stephanie Dobrowolski in 2014, is one of the fastest-growing quality-focused education companies in Africa, now working with more than 300,000 students across the continent.
Rising’s multi-channel, multi-geography education platform has a proven track record of delivering industry-leading results through its affordable private schools in Sierra Leone and Ghana, and large-scale government partnerships in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Rwanda. Rising is now also launching a pioneering, offline-first, whole-school improvement system (“Bambai”) to open up its digital solutions to the large, chronically underserved non-state schools sector.
The Series A investment will be used to further accelerate the development and impact of these channels and more than double the number of students reached by:
Growing Rising’s portfolio of government partnerships, which includes the Education Outcomes Fund’s flagship programs in Sierra Leone and Ghana and the new Elimu-Soko Project in Rwanda, beginning in January 2023.
Bringing its multi-award-winning AI-powered Rori virtual math tutor to market, while growing subscriptions to its Bambai digital school improvement solutions from 100 schools to 1,000 over the next three years.
Diversifying its affordable private school business by rolling out its Rising International offering and expanding to a third country.
Adding several senior positions across the Rising team to deliver on this ambitious agenda across channels and regions.
The Klett Group, marking its 125th anniversary this year, unites over 80 companies in 18 countries. It is one of the leading educational companies in Europe, covering numerous areas of the education sector, including publishing, schools and distance universities. The investment in Rising marks their first major step into K-12 education in Africa.
Discussing the investment Ingmar Lampson, Senior Vice President at Klett Kita & Schule, said:
“As a 125-year-old company, we look at the big picture: by 2050, 40% of the world’s children will live in Africa. We want to play our part in ensuring those children can access the highest quality of education, and that’s why we are so excited to be part of taking the great platform Rising Academies has already built to the next level.”
Paul Skidmore, Founder and CEO of Rising Academies, said:
“As part of our school creed, our children pledge that ‘however well we do, we will always strive to do better’. It’s a promise we keep as a company too. This investment will unlock innovation and growth right across our portfolio of schools and partnerships, doubling the number of students we’re reaching while improving quality in every classroom. We couldn’t be more excited to be working with such a fantastic group of partners who share our commitment to making quality education accessible and affordable for all.”
UBS Optimus Foundation CEO Maya Ziswiler said:
“As a longstanding supporter of Rising Academies’ work, UBS Optimus Foundation is pleased to continue its engagement and investment in them. We’ve seen up close the educational impact Rising Academies has had - and the huge potential it has to grow and deepen that further in the coming years.”