Binar Academy and Its Mission To Improve The Capability Of Indonesia's Digital Talents

One of the sectors that was boosted by growth during the pandemic was edtech. More and more Indonesian people from various walks of life then adapt to learn independently online.

As a platform that focuses on developing digital capabilities and talents, Binary Academy claims to have successfully educated more than 8 thousand students in 2020 and resulted in an 80% increase in income.

Founded in 2017, this startup was started by Alamanda Shantika who was the first former VP of Technology and Product Gojek along with two alumni Gojek others, namely Dita Aisyah and Seto Lareno.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged educational institutions, teachers, students, and also parents in Indonesia to adapt to learning online. It is time for us to innovate in providing education and create an interesting and fun learning experience. I am confident that the combination of contemporary learning experiences, technology and community will achieve this,” said Founder & CEO of Binar Academy Alamanda Shantika.

Binar Academy offers two main educational programs. Among them are Binar Bootcamp and Binar Insight. The Binar Bootcamp program, an intensive course for beginners, has four classes lasting 4 to 6 months, namely: Product Management, UI/UX Design and Research, Android Engineering, and Fullstack Web Development.

Then Binar Insight, various series webinar interactive 1,5 to 2 hours, has more diverse classes such as Product Management, Digital Marketing, and Data Science. The classes most users choose are Product Management for Binar Bootcamp and Binar Insight.

Demographically, most Binar Academy users are high school graduates, college students, and people who want to change careers (career shifters). This year the company plans to increase collaboration with educational institutions including the government, universities, and vocational schools. In addition, Binar Academy will also collaborate with companies affected by digitalization to upskilling employees to bring it back into relevance.

In Indonesia alone program bootcamp is indeed an alternative to non-formal education, especially for those who want to pursue technology and programming. Besides Binar, there are several other startups that offer similar services, including Hacktiv8, Impact Byte, and Skilvul. One of the interesting options they offer is the "Income Share Agreement" scheme, which allows students to study first and pay for accommodation only after earning income from their expertise.

Pocket for early stage funding

Mid-April 2020 Binar Academy has received initial funding led by Teja Ventures with the participation of several investors such as the Indonesia Women Empowerment Fund (IWEF—a fund that aims to create social impact and is jointly managed by Moonshot Ventures and YCAB Ventures), Eduspaze, The Savearth Fund, and several angel investors from WIND.

The fresh funds are planned to be used to increase the growth of technology education, as well as recruit experts in the fields of education and technology to provide digitalization of content and curricula to continuously train digital talents.

This year's Binar Academy also has a target to increase the growth of technology education products, as well as recruit more experts in the fields of education and technology in order to provide digitalization of content and curriculum for 45 thousand students in Indonesia.

"In the last three years, we have continued to develop our main product, Binar Bootcamp, to meet our students' learning experiences and the market's demand for digital talent. Inspiring Indonesian youth and helping them to discover their true potential will always be my mission," said Alamanda.