Tunisian edtech startup GOMYCODE has raised $8 million in Series A funding. The funding round was co-led by AfricInvest, through its Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF) and French-based development finance institution Proparco. It also received investments from existing backers such as Wamda Capital which participated in its seed round that took place two years ago. Following the latest funding, the total amount raised by the budding edtech startup now stands at $8.85 million. Back in October 2020, the startup raised $850,000.
Thanks to the new funding, GOMYCODE which is present in Tunisia, Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Bahrain, will be able to strengthen its presence in these countries and venture into territories like South Africa, Kenya, Saudia Arabia, and Ghana.
GOMYCODE was founded by CEO Yahya Bouhlel who has a background in building apps and iPhone games. The drive for the startup came when he returned home to Tunisia and saw that many youngsters had the desire to build products just like him. Also, his older sibling Amine Bouhlel who moved back to Tunisia for a new job needed developers but there seemed to be a shortage in the country. “At that time, I had just graduated from high school and I had a free summer. Amine was struggling to find higher web developers. So the idea of building a school or a learning experience with the spirit of Silicon Valley came, and we started GOMYCODE as a summer project and camp and grew that year,” CEO Yahya Bouhlel explained. Yahya’s brother also has a strong background in tech and held the position of CCO at Jumia Tunisia between 2018 and 2021. He is currently GOMYCODE’s chief operating officer.
GOMYCODE is looking to upskill Africa’s youths and provide them with skills that’ll be relevant in an ever-changing world. In many regions in the continent, unemployment levels are as high as 30 percent and the number of youths between the ages of 15 and 24 in Africa is expected to grow by more than 40 percent. With tech jobs in very high demand, GOMYCODE wants to contribute its quota by training African youths to take on tech-related jobs.
Currently, the edtech offers more than 30 learning tracks that range from digital marketing, web development, and data science, to artificial intelligence. 50 percent of training is done online while the remaining half must be completed physically at any of GOMYCODE’s network of 20 physical centers.
CEO Yahya Bouhlel says the startup has more than 500 teachers who teach students in at least 12 different languages. “We’re addressing a demand that almost no other company is capturing at our scale. Local traditional training centers offer outdated content and methodology, and international online players struggle to enroll African students due to their lack of understanding of local markets and unaffordable price points. We have a blended education model, we teach in twelve local languages, and we’re positioning ourselves as a regional leader,” he added.
Under the edtech’s training, students have to undergo two different programs. The first is a skills-driven introductory program that takes about 3 months to complete and costs $250 while the other program is a 5-month program that costs $750.
The edtech currently has about 4,000 active students compared to 100 in its first year. More than half of its students are from Tunisia while the rest of the population are from seven other countries.
Ibhadojemu Lucky Emmanuel is a graduate of Education and Economics from the University of Benin. He has a passion for tech and business and has been writing professionally for over a period of five years. He's written across various topics and segments and knew tech-business was it when he first stumbled on it. He has a great passion for music and arts, and wants to visit as many countries as he can someday.
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