Nas Academy doubles revenue but ends 2021 at an operating loss

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Hello reader,

I’ve mentioned this before, but after speaking with many founders and entrepreneurs in the course of my work, I can’t see myself becoming one. And after reading today’s featured premium article, I’m even more convinced of that.

Edtech platform Nas Academy has swung to an operating loss of US$3.7 million in 2021 after clocking in a profit of nearly US$300,000 just a year earlier. That’s quite the reverse, but since much of the company’s expenditure can be put down to its spending on expanding its staff and investing in technology, it’s unlikely to cause sleepless nights for its stakeholders.

I, on the other hand, can’t really wrap my head around such a dramatic swing in numbers, regardless of the reason. Anyway, check out the article to get a deep dive into the firm’s financials and judge the situation for yourself.

Today we look at:

• Nas Academy’s financials for 2021
• The launch of a new suite of SaaS solutions from a Singapore-based ecommerce enabler
• Other newsy highlights such as Akulaku’s partnership with Alipay+ and the US$2.5 million pre-seed round of a Pakistan-based point-of-sale startup

Premium summary

Expanding is expensive

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Regardless of what I wrote in my introduction, I find it pretty heartening to see that the bulk of Nas Academy’s expenses lie in staff costs – especially amid the layoff spree we’re seeing in the tech industry at large.

I can’t be mad when people are getting hired and paid. But let’s also take a look at the edtech firm’s other figures.

• Big team: Nas Academy’s staff costs jumped by over 10x year on year to US$2.8 million in 2021. The edtech firm currently has a headcount of about 100, which includes 75 full-time employees and around 25 contractors and course trainers across its offices in Singapore, Dubai, and the Philippines. This is a jump from a workforce of about 20 people in 2020.
• Pay the experts: After staff costs, the second largest expense was the cost of sales, which grew by over 5x year on year to US$1.7 million in 2021. The expense represents the fees paid to content creators for the courses on Nas Academy’s platform.
• Getting the word out: The company also saw an over 4x growth in its advertising expenses to about US$832,000, making the segment its third largest expense for the year. But, costs aside, Nas Academy has a healthy bank balance, as its cash and cash equivalents in 2021 jumped by 19x to US$5.6 million.

Read more: Nas Academy swings to a loss in 2021 despite doubling revenue

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