Vietnamese EdTech Startup CoderSchool Raises $2.6M Pre-Series A

CoderSchool Secures $2.6 Million to Expand Online Coding Education

CoderSchool, an online coding education startup headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has announced the successful completion of a $2.6 million pre-Series A funding round. These funds will be utilized to enhance the company’s online learning platform and broaden its reach.

Investment Details

Monk’s Hill Ventures spearheaded this funding round, with significant participation from existing seed investors including Iterative, XA Network, and iSeed Ventures. Previously, CoderSchool secured seed funding in 2018, led by TRIVE Ventures.

Platform Growth and Employment Guarantee

The newly acquired capital will primarily be directed towards accelerating the growth of CoderSchool’s online teaching platform. Furthermore, investment will be made in expanding the company’s technical infrastructure to support its educational programs. These programs are uniquely designed to guarantee employment for graduates.

From Offline to Online Learning

Founded in 2015 by Charles Lee and Harley Trung, both formerly software engineers, CoderSchool initially focused on in-person instruction. However, in early 2020, the company strategically transitioned to a fully online model. This shift was implemented to deliver high-quality technical training to a wider audience.

Following this transition, CoderSchool experienced substantial growth, reporting a 100% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase in fully online enrollment, as stated in a company release.

Vision for Southeast Asia

“Coding represents the future landscape of technology,” stated Lee, co-founder and CEO of CoderSchool. “We firmly believe that every individual within Southeast Asia should have the opportunity to participate in this evolving future.”

Demand for IT Professionals in Vietnam

Vietnam is currently facing a significant surge in demand for skilled IT professionals, with an annual increase of 47%. Conversely, the supply of qualified candidates is only growing at a rate of 8% year-over-year.

Monk’s Hill Ventures Perspective

“The necessity for highly skilled engineers and developers in Southeast Asia is more pertinent now than ever before,” commented Michele Daoud, partner at Monk’s Hill Ventures. “This is driven by the expansion of both tech companies and digital businesses. We are deeply impressed by CoderSchool’s dedication to establishing a benchmark for coding education within the region and are enthusiastic about partnering with them to provide opportunities for aspiring students across Vietnam.”

Market Size and Future Expansion

According to Lee, the domestic market for engineering talent in Vietnam is currently valued between $100 million and $200 million, with continued annual growth projected. While CoderSchool has concentrated its efforts on Vietnam for the past six years, plans are underway to expand into the global market after the next funding round, though a specific timeline has not been disclosed.

Course Offerings and Alumni Success

CoderSchool provides courses in full-stack web development, machine learning, and data science, offered at a competitive cost. To date, the school has trained over 2,000 alumni. A noteworthy 80% of full-time graduates have secured employment at prominent companies including BOSCHE, Microsoft, Lazada, Shopee, FE Credit, FPT Software, Sendo, Tiki, and Momo.

Curriculum Refinement

“Having educated over 2,000 students, we’ve been able to continuously improve our coding education materials,” explained Lee in an interview with TechCrunch. “We completely revised our full-stack web development curriculum – encompassing Ruby, Python, and JavaScript – over a two-year period, and integrated new courses in machine learning and data science into our program.”

Human-Driven Learning Approach

CoderSchool’s online program prioritizes student interaction with instructors and peers, both inside and outside of scheduled class times. This is achieved through a human-driven learning strategy. The company currently employs 15 instructional staff and intends to recruit an additional 35 instructors by the fourth quarter of 2022.

Data Analytics and Scalability

The implementation of data analytics at CoderSchool has resulted in improved individual student performance. Additionally, it has enabled the company to increase class sizes efficiently, reaching a peak enrollment of 107 students in a single data science course.