Indonesia’s “Yammer for education” receives seed funding

Indonesia’s online education space just got another boost of confidence today as Kelase, a private social network for education, received an undisclosed amount seed funding from PT Insights Investments, a financial and investment firm in Indonesia. The money will be used for Kelase’s product development, recruitment, and system maintenance.

Kelase rolled out its trial version on June 2014. The startup allows education institutions to have their own social networks. Teachers and students can store and share numerous files on Kelase including education videos, e-books, and academic calendars – some of which Kelase itself provides.

Kelase users can also link up with other members from external institutions on the platform. They all can sign up for Kelase’s education communities which offers online classes on various topics. However, only institutions and members of those institutions can apply for Kelase’s service. Individuals who have no affiliation with any registered entities won’t be able to sign up.

See: Zenius wants to put more tech into the way Indonesians learn online

According to Kelase team, they now have 700 registered institutions using the product, over half of which they consider “active.” Currently, all of Kelase’s services remain free of charge. The team plans to monetize via premium features like online assessments and chat, online content like educational videos and ebooks, and sponsorships.

Kelase was created by Brimy Laksmana and Winastwan Gora. Both of them previously worked for Intel Indonesia for a few years until they decided that Indonesia needs an elearning platform that is easy to use, accessible on mobile devices, and engaging. The duo wants to provide a good learning environment for both teachers and students.

While there are a few startups that offer online learning courses in Indonesia, there isn’t yet a major player that offers a private learning social network like Kelase. Another education-related startup that recently received seed funding in Indonesia is RuangGuru ¹, a marketplace for tutors.