Hong Kong’s GoWell gets $1M funding from Fresco Capital and Nest

GoWell, a Hong Kong-based education company, has announced it has received US$1 million in funding led by hometown VC firm Fresco Capital, with participation from Nest Investments.

Founded in 2003, GoWell originated as a company making language-learning tools for Chinese speakers studying English, and English speakers studying Chinese. It then sold its online programs to schools, governments, and businesses.

But this funding – the company’s first institutional round – has arrived to support GoWell’s foray into running education centers across mainland China. The company has licensed branding and curriculum rights from ACT for its Global Assessment Curriculum Program, a college preparatory course for students looking to attend university in the US, UK, or Australia. It has also partnered with Open Edu, a mainland Chinese distance learning company with over 1200 centers, which will provide classroom space and infrastructure. GoWell will then manage instruction and marketing for the GAC program in these spaces, supplemented by its own proprietary technology. It will earn money from tuition fees.

There are more mainland Chinese students in overseas universities than ever before. A study from the Institute of International Education estimated that over 800,000 Chinese students were attending US universities during the 2013-14 academic year, marking an 8 percent annual increase. This surge has led to an emergence of college prep-minded education startups in China, with different firms focusing on different facets of the application process.

GoWell’s plans remain operations-focused as well as technology-focused, but GoWell founder Linda Wu tells Tech in Asia that the huge market still make tech-focused VC money helpful. The company has already established its first learning center in Shenyang, and Wu says its second one will be ready by mid-year.

Hong Kong’s Fresco Capital has made several bets in education, both for Chinese-speaking markets and international markets. In addition to GoWell, its portfolio includes Launchpilots, a company that connects brands with student ambassadors, as well as No Red Ink, a company that makes software that corrects students’ grammar mistakes. The latter firm recently secured a US$6 million series A round.

Editing by Steven Millward, top image by Nathan Congleton