Meet the Founders of Prepclass, a Nigerian EduTech Startup that Connects Skilled Tutors with Potential Learners

Ogunlana Olumide and Chukwuwezam Obanor are the founders of Prepclass, a Nigerian academic solutions provider offering online test prep software, full-length tests, and a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) experience similar to that of Nigerian university pre-entry exams. The startup was launched in 2014 and is simplifying the rigorous process of getting a professional home tutor in all subjects and skills.

At a time when there was a need for school exams to be taken digitally in Nigeria, Prepclass was ahead of its time. However, the co-founders soon realized that the idea was maybe what the market ‘wanted’ but not ‘needed’.

Ogunlana Olumide, one of the co-founders said, “a few months after launching our test product, students and sometimes parents were calling to request detailed answers to some of our questions on the platform. Some even went as far as asking for the presence of a tutor. It was then we realized the demand for physical tutoring in Nigeria. We realized that parents were more interested in having a physical tutor that would assist their children, rather than just some electronic interface. This was when we started experimenting around the tutor market place and it turned out to be more interesting than we anticipated”

The Client/Parent is required to fill an online form, which assists them in collecting important information about the student that they need to match them with a highly suitable tutor. Then they search their database for tutors who suits such preference and are knowledgeable in the subject or skill the learner wishes to learn.

The startup also handles negotiations with tutors and send the most suitable and affordable tutor to the clients. The main aim is to break off the norm of formal education by providing tutors that learners can relate freely with on subjects such as English language and grammar structuring to phonetics, sounds and pronunciation, learners from the age of 4 can be easily signed up by their parents or wards online for the seasons that will take place physically at the child’s comfortable home and time.

The company has been funded by CRE Venture Capital and the Venture Garden group and are waxing strong in the EduTech sector.