• Valenture Institute, based in Cape Town, South Africa, has been included in the GSV 150 list, honouring some of the world’s most transformational companies in digital learning.
• Valenture provides online learning technology to UCT Online High School, among others.
• Only two African companies were honoured in this year’s GSV list, the other being Kenya’s NewGlobe.

Cape Town, South Africa’s Valenture Institute, the online educational technology firm that provides the learning platforms for the UCT Online High school, among other institutions, is one of only two African companies honoured in this year’s GSV 150 list. The other being Kenya’s NewGlobe.

The GSV (Global Silicon Valley) list catalogues the “most transformational growth companies in digital learning” in the world. The list compiled by GSV Ventures estimates that together these 150 companies reach roughly 3 billion people — almost half of the global population — and generate approximately $25 billion in revenue.

“These 150 companies are at the forefront of innovation and are constantly evolving to meet the needs of learners, educators and companies around the world. Despite a decrease in the venture capital flowing into the sector compared to pandemic highs in 2021, these companies continue to thrive by providing a real ‘Return on Education’ for learners,” reads a press statement sent to Hypertext.

Valenture Institute was co-founded in 2019 by CEO Robert Paddock (pictured in the cover image), ex co-founder of GetSmarter, and COO Amy Johnson, with a mission to create new learning opportunities for high school students.

Leveraging the “science of online learning”, Valenture Institute brings expertise in learning design, robust learning technology and analytics to enable their partner schools to make an impact and attain student outcomes at scale.

In May 2021, Valenture Institute’s partner UCT Online High School made the final selection of Top Innovators in Africa at The World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit alongside other game changers in their relative fields such as Learnable, Nomad Education, StanLab & Pan-African Robotics Competition.

‍Now, GSV assessed over 4 000 venture capital and private equity-backed companies to craft this year’s list, with the final selection determined by GSV’s proprietary scoring system, which applies scores across several KPIs such as revenue scale, revenue growth, active learner reach, international reach, and margin profile. 

The GSV 150 is distributed across all education periods, covering early childhood, K-12, higher education, adult consumer learning, and workforce learning.

“We are excited to release the annual GSV 150, a selection of the leading private companies in digital learning and workforce skilling,” said Alexandra Argo, investor at GSV Ventures.

“As we enter into what we call a ‘Brave New World,’ it is clear that you can’t use an old map to navigate a new world. This impressive group of companies, continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of learners and businesses at scale. After evaluating over 4,000 companies globally, we are proud to present the list of the 150 most impactful companies in digital learning that are leading the charge in providing ALL people equal access to the future.”

[Image – Provided]