How an Online Technology School Will Fuel Economic Mobility Across the Region
By Esteban Sosnik (General Partner) and Enzo Cavalie (Investment Associate)
Reach sees education as an engine of economic mobility. And this is especially true in emerging markets like Latin America, where a growing middle class, increased adoption of online learning, and an acute but unmet demand for technology talent have created a ripe opportunity for quality education technology services.
The LatAm tech industry is accelerating dramatically. And as the technology sector grows, demand for technical talent across the region will continue to rise. Yet talent is a bottleneck to the growth of the industry as companies struggle to fill open roles, due in part to a lack of trained workforce. For example, Brazil and Mexico have a significantly smaller population of STEM graduates by population (1.2% and 2%, respectively) than other emerging economies like China (4.9%) and India (2.5%).
At the same time, with the increased adoption of remote work, Latin American tech talent is also in high demand across the global marketplace. With competitive salaries and a general alignment of time zones with North America, the region has the potential to become for the global tech economy what India was for the outsourcing industry in the ‘90s.
Introducing Coderhouse, a Cohort-Based Online Tech School for LatAm
This is why we’re excited to announce our investment in Coderhouse, a Buenos Aires-based provider of online courses for technology professionals. And we are thrilled to be joining monashees in this $13.5 million Series A round, along with some of the most successful Latin American startup entrepreneurs and executives including David Velez from Nubank, Guillermo Rauch from Vercel, Hugo Barra, former head of VR at Facebook and the founders of Loggi, Rappi, Wildlife Studios, Méliuz, MadeiraMadeira, Cornershop, Bitso, Casai, Clara, RunaHR and Belvo.
We have been following the development of the Latin American edtech market for years and are excited to be backing Coderhouse. What sets Coderhouse apart is its unique format that blends the engaging, live instruction of bootcamps with the variety and affordability of MOOCs. We are believers that live instruction and mentorship are critical for learning. That’s why we have backed companies like Outschool and Springboard in the past.
Coderhouse offers live online upskilling courses in coding, design, data, and marketing for professionals in Latin America. Starting at $100 per course, students can attend cohort-based courses led by an expert instructor, followed by small-group practice sessions led by teacher assistants. The curriculum is designed in partnership with executives at industry-leading tech companies like Mercado Libre, Rappi and Google, and students receive career services to help them leverage their skills into job offers.
Since 2019, the company has grown revenue by 10X year over year and served more than 50,000 students. They’ve accomplished all this while raising little outside capital — a feat worthy of note.
And just as important — this model delivers results. Ninety percent of Coderhouse students complete their courses, and 80 percent say they earn more money after finishing the program.
Coderhouse was founded in 2014 by Christian Patiño and Pablo Ferreiro, who wanted a better way to learn the technical skills needed to prepare for his career as a technology entrepreneur. He took a few online courses and attended some in-person classes in Buenos Aires but never found them impactful. So Chris set out to build something for himself and others who had similar experiences.
While Coderhouse has established a strong foothold in Argentina, it is continuing to expand its services across Latin America. The timing could not be better. The startup and technology scene across the region is booming, and capital is following, with $9.3 billion invested in the first half of 2021 — more than double the total amount for 2020.
Reach Out!
Coderhouse may be our first investment in Latin America, andwe believe there are many more opportunities for education entrepreneurs to tackle challenges for social and economic mobility. If you are building products and services that are narrowing gaps in access to education and economic opportunity, let’s talk!