Cape Argus E-dition

Tech Startup behind the UCT Online High School of the Future

WESLEY DIPHOKO wesley.diphoko@inl.co.za

THE University of Cape Town recently launched with fanfare an online high school which has been widely welcomed as an intervention to enable access to high school education.

The academic credentials of the University of Cape Town are known, what is less know is its ability to develop a digital platform for learning.

How did the university create a platform that will be used by young people to access high school education? The answer lies in a technology startup founded by Robert Paddock, Valenture Institute.

The edutech startup is the engine behind what UCT introduced as the first online high school backed by a university.

The startup was founded in 2019 with a mission to create aspirational learning opportunities for high school students.

Valenture has now become a platform for education institutions to offer digital offering on top of their curriculum.

UCT brand will play an important role for the growth of the Valenture Institute.

It will not be the first time an education tech startup founded by Robert Paddock leverages UCT in its growth.

GetSmarter was the first tech company founded by Paddock that worked closely with UCT.

It started by offering UCT courses online to the public and later grew by partnering with academic institutions outside of South Africa.

GetSmarter was later acquired by 2U for $103 million in cash plus an earn-out provision of as much as $20 million in cash.

Today, the edutech company led by Paddock boasts investments from some of the leading education and technology investment companies.

Recently Valenture Institute secured US$7 million in funding from GSV Ventures which is a global venture capital fund focused on early-stage entrepreneurial partnerships with exceptional global education technology companies like, most notably: Coursera, Photomath, ClassDojo, and Masterclass.

In a press statement released at the time, Deborah Quazzo of GSV Ventures added that the vision was clear and it was not just about the (Valenture Institute) online experience or blended-learning boutique campuses, but it was about evolving education in a way never seen before.

She revealed that they usually back companies they know have the potential to change the narrative of education and in this case, they felt Valenture Institute team had the grit, know-how, and innovative spirit to change the way we learners are educated around the globe in the future – be that primary, secondary or at tertiary level.

UCT has managed to secure a capable partner in addressing the access to education challenges in the high school sector.

BUSINESS

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2021-08-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-08-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

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