Like many sectors in today’s world, education flourishes when technology is brought into the picture. This impact has been seen time and again when startups make it their mission to create smart educational solutions for the general populace. One of the ways in which education technology is providing these solutions is through tutoring services. Tutoring has been shown to improve the performance of average students to a significant level. This is why Ed-Tech startups are emerging to leverage the demand for quality education by many students who are in need of support in addition to their classroom work.
One of such startups is Extraclass, a tutoring service founded by high-achieving Onyiyechi Nmecha, a young tech enthusiast and Computer Science undergraduate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University. She founded the platform at the young age of 19 despite being a student and facing the challenges that come with being female, in a male-dominated industry. Currently, Extraclass is recognised for its impact and has won several awards.
The Big Dream Of Extraclass
Like any other startup founder, intent on making a difference, Onyiyechi’s idea of Extraclass came while she was managing a tutorial centre and seeing how people sought good private tutors and quality educational content. Soon enough, she began hatching the idea and laying out the plan for its development. Seeing how important it would be to hone her skills if she wanted to build a startup of such stature, she attended DevAmplify Hub, a premier tech hub assisting startups in South East Nigeria.
Onyiyechi launched Extraclass in August 2017 after gaining the required skills and garnering support from mentors in the tech field. Interestingly, she started by launching the Alpha version of Extraclass and four days later she won the prestigious NACOSS-VOGUEPAY challenge and that inspired her to do more. The Alpha version of Extraclass gained ground soon enough with some tutors being signed to the platform and being matched to learners in their areas. As a result, Onyiyechi and her team went ahead to build the beta version of Extaclass with upgraded features and more solutions to the problems that plague education in Africa.
Offering Holistic Educational Content
Extraclass boasts of providing tutors across a wide range of disciplines including primary to tertiary school curricula, professional level courses such as ICAN and skills such as Web Development and Digital Marketing. As an Ed-Tech startup looking to make a difference, Extraclass offers “extra” services which you don’t come across on your everyday tutoring platform. The service has a prep-test engine where learners can put their knowledge into practice after interactions with tutors. Extraclass also offers a school directory that guides parents in the decision making process of choosing a school for their wards. The directory enables them compare schools within their vicinities and find affordable ones.
Achievements
In Nigeria, the South East is not considered favourable to startups when compared to economic buoyant locations like Lagos and Port Harcourt. Nevertheless, Extraclass has thrived against all odds and continues to break grounds in the marketplace. In 2017, Extraclass won the starting prize of N1 million dubbed Taiwo Bankole prize at the Techtiary Forum 2017.
These and the fact that Onyiyechi Nmecha has added to the growing list of female tech entrepreneurs around the world prove how impactful Extraclass has been within three years of its launch.
Featured image source: Extraclass.ng
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