For many decades now, advances in the education system have been minimal and mostly incremental. We’ve seen some new interesting applications of technology to try modernizing it but the challenge remains: it’s still very hard for some segments of the population to access high quality educational content. With a heavy dependence on governmental intervention, a multitude of stakeholders who often lack the right incentives, and a diverse foundational layer - curriculums can vary school to school, not all teachers resort to the same textbooks, and obviously, not two teachers or students are the same - the traditional education experience is outdated, and needs to be rethought.
Even though several companies have tried to address this, most focus on building platforms that replicate the learning experience online. They are mainly delivering the same content digitally, so that a student can go deeper into that particular topic. However, none of them have really solved the actual issues surrounding the learning process which extends beyond curriculums and content.
This is where Luca comes in. Besides offering an innovative way of learning, their mission is to solve these fundamental pain points by tackling lack of concentration, motivation and support given to children. We are very pleased to back their latest pre-seed round, alongside Heartcore and ex-CEO of Pearson's LATAM.
By focusing on K12 education, Luca can reach and help a broader audience of students along their entire school path. Rather than an alternative to schools or teachers, it is a complement to their education with content in the form of videos, questionnaires, and games, making learning more engaging for children. Through micro-learning materials, it helps solve the most common problems students often face during classes or when doing homework.
Frederico Bello, Luca’s founder and CEO, brings in the obvious value of having worked in fast growing startups like Uber, Circ, and in the education space like the PowerMBA, but also demonstrated a clear and ambitious vision for Luca. Even before starting to develop this project, he decided to look at the different markets in Latin America and understand their needs. He realized most countries had similar curriculums and the same outdated education experience. The fact that most of them also share the same language, Spanish, made him realize he could have a mass-market product in his hands. Luca launched in Mexico and is now running pilots in Peru and Colombia, on a path to scalability. Moreover, this can be offered at a very low price point which makes the product accessible to many students in developing countries.
All and all, we believe the conditions are there for Luca to make a change in the K12 education space in Latam, and we’re very happy to contribute to that positive social impact.
