GuruPanda secures RM500k funding for expansion
The
company plans to enhance its e-Learning programmes to expand its scope and
widen its market
Online learning platform GuruPanda Sdn Bhd concluded its first round of
crowdfunding with pitchIN on 15 November 2021, successfully attracting
investments totalling RM500,000.
The
monies are slated to fund the company’s expansion plans which will see a brand-new
app, new user interfaces and attractive features to encourage more
participation from its existing subscribers as well as attracting a wider base.
“We
also eventually hope to incorporate AI and Big Data onto our platform. This is
the future of e-Learning, and we want to ensure that we remain competitive and
attractive as the industry grows, and offer our subscribers the latest learning
applications,” says founder Kingsley Ting.
Launched
in January 2021, GuruPanda is an e-Learning platform for children aged between
4 and 15 years old, with the various offerings in its stable based on the
Malaysian education syllabus.
The
platform’s learning programmes are presently divided into two - English and
Bahasa Malaysia content for children between the ages of 4 - 7, and Mandarin
content for the 10 - 15-year-old group, based on the SJKC syllabus for Science,
Math, History and Mandarin Language. Programmes for the 8 - 9-year group will
eventually be included. GuruPanda also provides music courses on their platform
for young children.
“Our
first initiative moving forward will be a new app that will enable subscribers
to access the learning programmes on the go. This will be available for all
three operating systems namely IOS, Android and Harmony,” says Ting.
With
the launch of this app, projected for the first quarter of next year, GuruPanda
is looking to triple is subscriber base, especially tapping into the Malay
market to widen students’ access to affordable and quality e-Learning options.
At subscriptions of between RM130 to RM220 annually, GuruPanda is the most
affordable animated, cartoon-based learning platform in Malaysia.
“Our
programmes are very digitally interactive and offer complete and high-quality
content that suit each child’s learning level,” Ting adds.
True
to its objective to make education fun, engaging, accessible and affordable for
everyone, the planned new interfaces will increase the gamification and
animation elements of the programmes.
“Currently,
students take tests and quizzes and play games in the learning process,
collecting badges as rewards. The new interface will be more interactive and we
plan for students to be able to exchange these badges for physical prizes such
as laptops and mobile phones as well as in-programme avatars and cartoon
characters.”
GuruPanda
is presently only available in Malaysia, with a subscriber base of some 6,000
users. The company is poised to break
into the regional market with a Mandarin language programme, taught in Thai,
next year. Expansion plans into Indonesia and Vietnam are also in the pipeline.
“Our
goal is to develop GuruPanda into a household name, both in Malaysia and SEA
nations, that is synonymous with Fun, Accessible and Effective Learning,” Ting
says.
Towards
this end, the company is anticipating investments in its next crowdfunding
initiative, seeking partners and investors who share the same mind-set of
expanding e-Learning facilities. For more information on GuruPanda, visit the
website at www.gurupanda.com.my
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