Edutech firm Wincourse acquires smaller peer Mappr

Delhi-based education technology firm Wincourse is said to have acquired 85 per cent stake in Mappr, a social learning platform where students can share notes and interact with teachers, for an undisclosed amount.

The development was first reported by Mint.

"Wincourse is developing a complete suite of education technology solution, and acquisition of Mappr is a strategic move towards this direction," the news report quoted Dheeraj Jain, co-founder of Wincourse (run by DCS Certification Pvt Ltd), as saying.

Jain, who is also a director at London and Gurgaon-based hedge fund Redcliffe Capital, did not immediately respond to an email requesting for more details on the transaction.

Wincourse acts as a location-specific tutor aggregator. It also grades tutors on the basis of feedback from former/present students and fellow teachers, the report said. The company claims to have a data base of 800,000 tutors across the country.

Founded in 2014, Mappr offers a social networking platform for students, teachers and parents. Teachers can create discussion groups with students and parents. Mappr's news feed gives parents an overview of the daily activities in school, as per its website.

Mappr, run by Mappr Technologies Solution Pvt Ltd, would compete with Ahmedabad-based Flinnt.

Flinnt is an app and web-based platform that allows educational institutions to communicate and share resources.

Recently, Liga Edutech Pvt Ltd, a Bengaluru-based co-scholastic assessment platform for schools, acquired another startup in the field Learning Outcomes Solutions Pvt Ltd (Learning Outcomes) for close to Rs 6 crore (around $950,000).

India's total education sector market is pegged over $60 billion. Of this, approximately 50 per cent is spent on higher education, 40 per cent in K12 sector and 10 per cent in coaching, skilling and other non-formal areas.

According to Ken Research, India's e-learning market is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 18 per cent to touch $1.29 billion (Rs 7,869 crore) by FY18.