MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Even before the pandemic, it was thought 1 billion jobs globally would be transformed by technology in the next decade, fuelled by growth in areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and big data. Then COVID-19’s impact on education, work and the acceleration of technology adoption led to seismic ramifications and the scale of the challenge changed. As industries transform their traditional business models in the wake of technology advances, it’s estimated that 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025.
Eskwelabs is an online data upskilling school in the Philippines that aims to drive social mobility in the future of work through data skills education—in the form of bootcamps, learning subscriptions, and corporate training. Eskwelabs will join 6 other early-stage edutech companies from Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam selected for the second cohort from over 200 applicants across 30 countries.
Managed by Singapore-based VC firm Spaze Ventures and supported by Enterprise Singapore, EduSpaze works with founders over the course of the 100-day programme to “accelerate” their progress in various aspects including market fit, product development and revenue generation, among others. Early-stage edutech companies are provided with up to S$500,000 (US$376,000) in funding, mentorship opportunities and support for pilot project implementations in the region.
With COVID-19 changing the lives and careers of people all over the world, this opportunity to join EduSpaze will provide Eskwelabs with the resources and connections to break out of the Philippines—the country that this startup currently calls its homebase and where it has already impacted the lives of over 3,000 learners and worked with 100 companies since beginning in May 2019.
“Eskwelabs is scaling up the ways in which we inspire, equip, and connect people to the future of work through data skills in 2021. And we’re excited to work with Eduspaze to bring the unique upskilling approach we developed for the Southeast Asia local context to more people in the region,” said Angela Chen, Co-Founder and CEO at Eskwelabs.
EduSpaze and Spaze Ventures Managing Partner Alex Ng says, “There is a great opportunity in the education sector across Singapore and Southeast Asia, both in terms of the size of the market and the demand for new solutions. We want EduSpaze to provide mentorship, practical skills and resources to facilitate high-quality innovation in education. With the support of Enterprise Singapore and a strong ecosystem, we are confident that we can help entrepreneurs in the region meet changing education needs in the post-COVID world.”
