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Crossing the Atlantic: Danish startups testing waters in Brazilian edtech

Private schools have better digital infrastructure than ever, and basic education in Bazil has improved significantly over the last few decades. In November last year, two Danish edtech startups were in the country’s largest city, São Paulo, to test the waters of the Brazilian market – today they both have a foot in the door.

Private schools have better digital infrastructure than ever, and basic education in Bazil has improved significantly over the last few decades. In November last year, two Danish edtech startups were in the country’s largest city, São Paulo, to test the waters of the Brazilian market – today they both have a foot in the door.

In Brazil, technology has spread rapidly and efficiently since the beginning of the millennium, after telecom operators rolled out networks across the country.

Technology has also found its way into the daily teaching of Brazilian classrooms. Today, it is rare to talk about learning without mentioning reliance on information technology, and a new generation of Brazilians are using technology from an early age.

“Brazilians are very receptive to new technology, and the proliferation of fast-paced smartphones is altering the community and market at the moment”, says Eva Bisgaard Pedersen, General Consul and Head of Innovation Centre Denmark in São Paulo. “In international comparisons, Brazilians measure as one of the groups that spend the most time on the mobile internet per day”.

Market with potential for startups

The growing middle class of the country demands quality in learning, and, particularly urban areas, the number of private education institutions is growing. In the wealthy region of São Paul, private players are hungry for innovation and have money to spend. This creates great opportunities for Danish startups.

“Private schools in São Paulo have much increased financial power now the middle classes are investing in their children’s education. If a Danish company succeeds in signing a contract with one school, there is a high chance that the market opens for them in the rest of the country”, says Eva Bisgaard Pedersen.

At the Innovation Centre, they see great potential in the education sector, and in November last year, Danish startups tried to crack the Brazilian edtech market using the Innovation Centre Denmark’s network of private schools. Three months later, two Danish companies have a foot in the door to the Brazilian market.

“We will join the market as it grows.”

One of the Danish companies pursuing Brazilian market success is EduLab. They aim to help children across the world be better at maths and have launched the MatematikFessor platform to do so, currently used by more than 75,000 children daily.

“We want to tell the story of EduLab in Brazil and learn more about our potential, as well as about our competitors in one of the world’s largest markets,” says Shân Mari Linnet Nissen, a business developer at EduLab.

According to EduLab, who have been following Brazilian development for a while, it is not only the students who are motivated, but the teachers are also much further advanced than a few years ago. They are much more aware of the value of digital learning tools.

“They know the value of a technological product and are not afraid to bring technology into the classrooms,” says Shân Mari Linnet Nissen. “Brazilians are in a very different place to Denmark when it comes to the development of digital learning material. They have gone directly from analogue material to the development of robots and 3D printers. It is because of this that they are ready for digital learning resources that teach a basic knowledge of a subject, with the benefits that digital learning materials offer students. We will join the market as it grows, and this is just the start of that growth.”

“Every reason to explore further potential”

The Copenhagen startup, Peergrade, was also part of the edtech delegation headed to São Paulo. Worldwide, the platform has around 70,000 active users each quarter, and the number is rising by approximately 400 percent every six months.

With their wild growth in hand, Peergrade travelled to São Paulo to study the market and test an intensive format where they met potential new customers from private schools each day.  And they did not come home empty-handed.

“Compared to the how large the potential market in Brazil is, we have relatively few users,” says David Wind Kofoed. “So we were interested in finding out if it was random or whether there was a particular reason we didn’t have so many users in Brazil. There was a lot of interest in our product in private schools, and we received good feedback overall. Negotiations take a long time in our industry, so there is every reason to explore further potential in Brazil.

“Through the Innovation Centre, we met a potential partner who would help sell Peergrade to institutions in São Paulo. We are now working with that partner to see if there are further opportunities for introducing Peergrade in Brazil.”

EduLab also made good connections on the intensive course

“We still have some good leads, and there is one lead of particular interest as we were approached after the trip to Brazil,” says Shân Mari Linnet Nissen. “Word spreads slowly, and it is nice to see that we left some buzz over there. And the Innovation Centre helps us keep the relationships active and alive. It might be the first step over the Atlantic.”

Disclaimer: TechSavvy Media was invited to São Paulo by Innovation Center Denmark to follow a delegation of Danish edtech startups. 

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