IFC invests $15m in Indian edtech company Byju's
International Finance Corporation (IFC) is investing up to $15m for a minority stake in Indian edtech firm Byju's. The education company's K-12 learning app launched last year and offers learning programmes for high school pupils. It has nearly seven million downloads and adds 30,000 pupils a month, according to Byju's. The funds from IFC, the investment branch of the World Bank, will help Byju's expand its services and boost its technology investment.

International Finance Corporation ( IFC ) has invested $ 15 million in edtech company Byju's, according to a statement by the investment arm of the World Bank . This partnership will enable Byju's to further expand their offerings across the nation as well as in international markets.According to IFC's website, "The proposed IFC investment (Project) consists of up to $15 million in equity for a minority stake in BYJU's in order to finance the expansion of the Company's education services offering, further technology development and potential inorganic growth opportunities." IFC is a global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries."Education is an important sector for IFC given its critical role in driving economic and social development in the country. IFC's venture capital strategy in the EduTech space is focused on technology-enabled learning platforms for academic improvement, skill development platforms as well as supplemental and low-cost education solutions," said Ruchira Shukla, Regional Lead, Venture Capital Investments at IFC. "Byju's is the market leader in the four-12 segment offering engaging content and building concept clarity by identifying and addressing students' learning gaps."Byju's K-12 learning app, launched in 2015, offers adaptive, engaging and effective learning programs for students in classes 4-12 (K-12) and competitive exams like JEE GRE and GMAT . According to the company, the app has close to seven million downloads and around three lakh annual paid subscriptions and sees an addition of 30,000 students every month. The average time spent on the app is 40 minutes."The investment from IFC recognises our commitment to create world-class learning programs that will make learning accessible for students across geographies. We expect them to be good partners for our international expansion. We have been talking to them for some time," said Byju Raveendran , CEO of Byju's."Today, almost 70% of our users come from outside the top 10 cities. It is encouraging to see increased adoption from 1700+ towns and cities in the country, but there is still a long way to go before we call this a learning revolution. To further accelerate our reach in the deeper parts of India, we are planning to add channel partners across the country," he added.Before this investment, Byju's had, in September, raised $50 million in a round co-led by the Chan-Zuckerberg Foundation and Sequoia Capital. Earlier in the year, the startup had raised $75 million from Sequoia Capital and Sofina.IFC's venture capital team has also invested in Bridge International Academics, the world's largest chain of low-cost nursery and primary schools, and Coursera, an education technology company offering massive open online courses. India is IFC's top country exposure, globally. IFC's committed portfolio in India is over $5 billion as of June 30, 2016. In FY16, IFC committed $1.1 billion in new investments in India.