Cakap Continues to Expand Service Variants, Embrace More Than 1,5 Million Active Students on the Platform

Early August 2021, platform EdTech language learning “Cakap” launched the Teacher Academy. The latest service contains teaching training programs through the platform online, started for English teachers. It summarizes communicative teaching techniques and the use of technology. This program is free, but there is an exam mechanism that must be passed first. Later, certified teachers can join the Cakap platform and earn teaching income there.

"Cakap's commitment to improving the competence of students and teachers can also be seen from the results of Cakap's achievements which have empowered around 1,5 million students and more than 1000 global and local teachers from various learning topics. The teachers come from Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, South Africa, and others who will later become instructors for Cakap Teacher Academy participants," said Cakap Co-Founder & CEO Tomy Yunus.

Cakap also sees this as an opportunity to improve Indonesia's score in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2024, which will assess the effectiveness of language teaching and learning worldwide. In addition to improving teacher competence, this program will also have a wider impact, such as access to training to obtain job opportunities. Participants in this program will be given a certification recognized by the National Professional Certification Agency (BNSP).

Business development

In an exclusive interview with DailySocial.id, Tomy said that until Q2 2021, the number of active students on the platform increased by 500% in the same period last year. Of the 1,5 million students enrolled, the demographics are 52% female and 48% male; dominated by students, professionals, and also young entrepreneurs (60% aged 20-29 years).

In addition to existing learning services, Say UpSkill which was launched last year claimed to get a good response from the community to reduce gap of competency in the Indonesian workforce. It has been recorded that more than 100 thousand alumni have resulted from training programs targeting various professions ranging from digital marketers, engineers, SMEs owners, to tourism workers.

"Currently, Cakap's disciples can already enjoy the system interactive self-paced learning, learning time can be very flexibly determined by students between learning through interactive video materials, live webinars, online assignments, to final examination to get a certification that can be done from anywhere," added Tomy.

Value proposition

In the app-based language learning business, Cakap is not alone. There are several local and global players playing in this area. Just say it English Academy from Ruangguru, specifically provides English course services for free online with professional instructors. Apart from video on-demand, services are also provided through teaching live interactive. There is also ELSA Speak which focuses on speaking English and LingoAce which focuses on learning Chinese.

Looking at the projected capitalization value generated from language learning services online it's tempting. It is projected in 2024 to reach $21,57 billion with the highest growth contributed from the Asia Pacific market. An industry that is still fragmented is an opportunity for players EdTech to fix the situation, even regarding learning strategies in the new normal era.

To stay relevant to market needs, according to Tomy, there are four strategies that Cakap emphasizes. First, form an integrated learning ecosystem. The application provides several interconnected features, ranging from private learning, studying with friends in groups, webinar, language proficiency tests, multimedia study materials, and a directory of study reports.

Second, professional teachers who are recruited from trusted educational institutions and proven their abilities through professional certificates. Third, certified course learning materials. Cakap offers learning materials developed in collaboration with trusted educational institutions and students can get certificates recognized by BNSP.

And lastly related interactive learning materials. "The Cakap technology platform does not replace teachers in the learning process. Cakap technology empowers teachers, increases technology adoption among teachers and makes the learning process easier to do anywhere and anytime without limits," said Tomy.

The next plan

At the end of 2020, Cakap just announced the acquisition of $3 million series A+ funding led by Heritas Venture Fund, followed by Strategic Year Holdings and several previous investors such as Investidea Ventures and Prasetia Dwidharma. When asked about plans for further fundraising, Tomy replied, "We are currently in the process of evaluating opportunities for collaboration or funding."

The acceleration of digital adoption during the pandemic was also seen by the Cakap team. According to him, Indonesians are now quite famous tech savvy and quickly adapt to new technologies. "I see that in the past year and a half, Indonesian people are getting used to doing online learning, not as an alternative but as a substitute for conventional learning methods. This can be seen from the significant increase in the number of students on the Cakap platform as mentioned above," explained Tommy.

He also revealed that students are also more comfortable with interactive learning methods because they can still maintain interaction and social aspects in the virtual classroom. The Learning Management System also plays an important role in managing learning activities from scheduling to reporting, so that students can feel the learning process is more effective and efficient than conventional learning methods.

“We will still focus on providing social impact for the people in Indonesia through the solutions that have been launched previously, starting from language learning through Cakap Language, increasing skills in the vocational field through Cakap UpSkill, as well as teacher empowerment programs through the Cakap Teacher Academy. We hope that with this series of solutions, we can help realize equal access to education and improve the living standards of the Indonesian people in the future," concluded Tomy.