5 Ecuadorian tech startups enhancing education

Contxto– Two weeks ago, the Embassy of Ecuador ended its political asylum given to Julian Assange. This event concluded with the arrest of the founder of Wikileaks in London.

Besides the recent demonstration of 20,000 citizens who denounced President Lenin Moreno on the streets of Quito, the Assange story is the most recent news from Ecuador. But in terms of technology and entrepreneurship, what is happening in this Andean country?

According to the report of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), Ecuador registered a total of 844 companies at the end of 2016. Of these 844 companies registered by the INEC, 90 percent were classified as micro-enterprises. More recently, Ecuador also positioned itself as a leading Latin American nation in the Edtech industry.

Due to this, the following market map showcases some of the most promising Ecuadorian Edtech startups improving the quality of life for citizens through digital learning initiatives.

Idukay

With more than 250,000 active users in 230 connected schools, Idukay is an academic management platform making processes more efficient in academic institutions. It also improves communication between teachers, students, parents and managers of the institution.

Cuestionarix

Cuestionarix is an e-learning platform focused on preparing students for admission exams into professional career programs. Users work at their own speed via detailed self-guided courses.  

AlaU

AlaU is an e-learning platform that also preps students to pass university entrance exams. Among its programs are mock exams, video classes and consultancies with specialized teachers. In 2015, Founder and CEO of AlaU Diana Medina was recognized by MIT as part of the first generation of innovators under 35 years old.

Newton Virtual

Also concerned about the education of students, Newton Virtual prepares students to pass college entrance exams as well. Scholars can study at their own pace on the interactive platform, in addition to 24/7 access to experts.

Educadots

Educadots focuses on creating a fun learning space to foster interest in children’s knowledge. Recently, they have just released their most recent feature called LVEM to make their work more attractive through virtual reality.

As expected, the capital of Quito is in the lead as the country’s economic hub these startups. What they all share in common, though, is innovating and facilitating access to educational resources. With more intellectual capital, these efforts will surely result in some beneficial economic development.