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Perlego raises $50M, aims to build ‘Spotify for textbooks’
![Perlego raises $50M, aims to build ‘Spotify for textbooks’](https://adigitalboom.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/perlego-team.jpg)
The London online startup Perlego has picked up $50 million to expand its business after seeing its platform boom through Covid-19.
The company currently has 400,000 paying subscribers who get all-you-can-read access to some 850,000 titles — textbooks, fiction, and other literature that students are assigned as coursework at universities and other higher-learning institutions; the startup says that this catalog makes Perlego the largest online textbook subscription service in the world.
The companies that led the round were Mediahuis Ventures (the V.C. arm of European media group Mediahuis), Raine Ventures, the V.C. arm of Raine Group (the investment bank overseeing the sale of Chelsea FC), and Evli Growth Partners.
Through their, We Are Human fund and backing from ” strategic ” publishers, this round also had angel investors, such as the co-founders of Kahoot, Jamie Brooker, and Johan Brand, We Are Human fund and backing from “strategic” publishers.
It is known that Perlego (Latin for “I read”) works with 5,000 education publishers, including Cengage, Routledge, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, and Harvard University Press.
The company was founded by Gauthier Van Malderen and Matthew Davis in 2017 after they were inspired to build a platform to address what they felt was an acute financial issue for students: the very high cost of textbooks.
Van Malderen said, recalling how he would typically pay £200-£300 for a single book only to “read one assigned chapter and then never use it again.” “This was a pain point of mine,” it was not unlike how you might want to hear a few songs but not an entire album by a recording artist. “So I thought, surely a subscription model would work here.”.
The student suffers from the high cost of textbooks; in a survey from the Public Interest Research Group in the U.S. appears that in 2020 some 65% of college students reported that they held off from buying school textbooks because of the prices, despite knowing that it would likely impact how well they did in the courses.
Some 23% of students drop classes because of the cost of the books required to take them, according to Van Malderen.
Elizabeth Brillman, a V.C. partner at Raine Ventures, said, “The market for educational content has lagged other types of content, which have successfully digitized and offered new models of consumption to users. We believe that adoption of an online subscription model in this category is inevitable and that Perlego’s platform and business model will lead the education industry in this digital shift,” resume “We are excited to partner with Gauthier and the entire Perlego team in this journey.”.
Van Malderen indicated that publishers were a little slower but not uninterested in engaging with the startup to see what might come of the relationship. While publishers have had a pretty firm grip on publishing books for a predictable market space — those in education — the situation had some significant cracks in it from their perspective.
He said, “A big issue for publishers is that they price textbooks high in part to offset piracy,” he added what hurts them more is not illegal but equally disruptive, and something publishers were keen to combat: the second-hand book market. Those two forces have been on a collision course for some time. Perlego claims that in 2021, it intercepted 2.1 million searches online for “free” pirated textbooks.
resume “A model like ours not only prevents piracy, but it reduces the need for second-hand books.”
The business model is now built around making the book subscription not accessible but at least considerably more affordable for students or even institutions that might want to partner with Perlego to give their students access to the service as part of their offering them.
Before users have to either pay monthly (£12 in the U.K.; $18 in the U.S.) or annually (which works out to £8; $12 per month), the company currently has a two-week free trial, But it does not have a freemium tier a la Spotify.
Van Malderen said, “I am against ads,” “We want to create a clean space without the stress of advertising. We are not keen to have advertising in the loop.” He resumes that potentially one idea might be to create tiers of books instead, where some are free to use, and others require premium subscriptions. As for the publishers work on a revenue share model, where 65% of its subscription revenues are in turn distributed to publishers it works with, with an additional commission paid based on consumption of work and the value of the book.
Malderen continued that over time, they are also considering how they might work with publishers to sell actual hard copies of books that people might like to own for life.
Perlego isn’t just extolling the virtues of lower pricing, as with other companies that have built businesses around e-books, but also highlights (pun intended) the advantages of the digital interface for different reasons.
Van Malderen says that the books become part of a “private digital library” that is more dynamic (and easier to carry around) than the analog version, and where (in tech terms) that library becomes a kind of platform in itself: you can save your annotations, and for people to share annotations, as well as add other documents, and different types of media, beyond Perlego books to those libraries.
Modern resumes, “Our vision is to be an ecosystem to find all your course material, including videos or PDFs,” explaining, “We believe that could also be a place for instructors to carry out your work assignments and grading, too, streamlining for everyone.”.
Chegg has also built out a rental/purchasing portal for online textbooks; Open Library and Libre Texts are two others, but none of these areas are extensive in terms of catalogs and functionality as Perlego — not yet, at least.
In the last two years, the model seems to be finding some impressive traction, with the three sides of Perlego’s marketplace all growing at a time when online learning has taken hold of the world in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. It linked up with 6,000 institutions to fulfill class and course syllabi across 172 countries.
40% of the students that use Perlego are in the U.S.; in 2021, Perlego saw 450% subscriber growth, and publishers have also warmed to it: its book catalog had gone up 166% in the last year and has grown by more than 500,000 since 2019 when it was at a mere 300,000 titles.
Paul Verwilt, COO at Mediahuis, said in a statement, “Perlego is changing the equation for university students, helping them access course resources, while also enabling publishers to move online and harness new revenue opportunities. Since our first investment, we’ve watched the company soar and are excited to double down on our commitment to the company in their Series B. Making independent information accessible to society is at the heart of doing. Mediahuis is pleased to extend its mission further into higher education.”.
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Saudi Fintech Lendo Signs MOU with J.P. Morgan
![Saudi Startup Lendo Joins Forces with J.P. Morgan to Enhance SME Financing](https://adigitalboom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Lendo-x-JP-Morgan-MOU.png)
Lendo, a Saudi Arabia-based Shariah-compliant crowdlending marketplace, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today with J.P. Morgan to improve access to financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the country.
The MOU was signed during 24 Fintech, a premier fintech event that brings together industry leaders, innovators, and investors in Riyadh.
J.P. Morgan and Lendo are working together on potential opportunities to support the SME sector in Saudi Arabia in growing and sustaining the remarkable demand in this market.
“This strategic collaboration with J.P. Morgan, a pioneer in the financial industry, marks a significant milestone for Lendo,” said Osama Alraee, CEO and co-founder of Lendo. “By combining our strengths, we’ll deliver cutting-edge financial solutions to SMEs, supporting their growth and contributing directly to the realization of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.”
The SME financing landscape in MENA presents a substantial market opportunity as limited financial access continues to restrict the growth of the region’s businesses, with commercial banks hesitant to issue loans to SMEs at scale, resulting in a high percentage of declined financing requests annually.
The total SME financing gap in developing countries is estimated to be approximately $5.2 trillion, according to the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Lendo’s debt crowdfunding platform aims to bridge the financing gap for SMEs, aligning with Saudi Vision 2030’s goal to significantly expand SME lending from 4% in 2018 to 20% by 2030.
According to the latest available report from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), the total value of debt crowdfunding in Saudi Arabia surged from SAR 1.4 million in 2019 to SAR 771 million in 2022, marking a remarkable growth.
Lendo raised SAR 132 million ($35.2 million) in total funding from leading investors, including the most recent Series B led by Sanabil Investments, a wholly-owned company by the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Since its inception in December 2019, Saudi fintech Lendo has processed over 5,000 financing transactions on its platform, providing over SAR 2 billion ($600 million) in financing to SMEs and generating SAR 280 million ($74 million) in returns for investors.
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TA Telecom Introduces AnteThink: A New AI Decision Support Tool
![**TA Telecom Introduces AnteThink: A New AI Decision Support Tool for Enhanced Decision-Making**](https://adigitalboom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/antethink-ta-telecom.png)
TA Telecom, a prominent player in the Middle East’s tech sector, has unveiled AnteThink, an AI-driven tool designed to enhance decision-making processes for individuals and businesses alike.
With a history of influencing the tech landscape through various initiatives, including advanced mobile solutions, high-volume payment platforms, and ventures in e-commerce, fintech, and analytics, TA Telecom has carved a niche for itself. Serving a vast user base of 40 million and processing an impressive 15 billion transactions across its platforms, TA Telecom has cemented its position as a tech industry leader, with some of its ventures achieving the status of Y Combinator companies.
Established in 2000, TA Telecom has emerged as a prominent player in the technology sector. With over 40 million users and processing 15 billion transactions annually, TA Telecom has made a notable impact. Recognized for its contributions by the Financial Times and featured on Deloitte’s list of fastest-growing tech companies in EMEA, TA Telecom is known for its adaptability and forward-thinking approach in the ever-evolving global tech landscape.
Sameh Ibrahim, CEO of TA Telecom, highlights the potential of AnteThink: “AnteThink reflects our commitment to leverage technology for practical impact. It aims to provide clarity and confidence in decision-making, whether in the professional or personal sphere. AnteThink is a tool that can empower startup founders, executives, and individuals to make more informed choices, alleviating the stress and uncertainty often associated with critical decision-making.”
Mostafa Ashour, CEO of Y Combinator-backed startup NowPay, shared his perspective on AnteThink: “AnteThink transformed our strategic planning, allowing us to explore various scenarios and prepare for different outcomes. It has strengthened our decision-making process, helping us navigate the complexities of the business landscape.”
AnteThink embodies TA Telecom’s commitment to innovation, focusing on supporting the startup ecosystem. The tool is tailored to help leaders and executives navigate the complexities of business management and strategic development by providing a clear picture of potential outcomes.
Key Features of AnteThink include:
1. Second Order Mode: Offering a comprehensive analysis of broader impacts, fostering a strategic mindset for long-term success.
2. Optionality Mode: Enabling detailed evaluation and comparison of different choices to ensure decisions align with strategic objectives and values.
3. Inversion Mode: Focusing on identifying and mitigating potential risks, thereby strengthening risk management strategies.
![TA Telecom Introduces AnteThink: A New AI Decision Support Tool for Enhanced Decision-Making](https://adigitalboom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/antethink-screenshot-800x450.png)
Credit: Antethink
AnteThink’s advanced AI technology aims to assist decision-makers with insightful analytics, offering guidance through the decision-making process.
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GoDaddy’s Global Markets VP Predicts Egypt’s E-commerce to Hit $9.88 Billion by 2028
![GoDaddy's Global Markets VP Predicts Egypt's E-commerce to Hit $9.88 Billion by 2028](https://adigitalboom.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Selina-Bieber-the-Senior-Director-of-Global-Markets-at-GoDaddy.webp)
Selina Bieber, the Senior Director of Global Markets at GoDaddy, has predicted a significant increase in Egypt’s e-commerce revenue. By 2028, it could reach $9.88 billion.
Godaddy is forming strategic partnerships and launching initiatives to help local entrepreneurs. These efforts align with Egypt’s digital transformation goals and its Vision 2030.
In an interview with the Arabic financial news “Amwal Al Ghad,” Bieber spoke about GoDaddy’s plans and how they match Egypt’s 2023 strategy. She highlighted the company’s aim to provide effective, easy-to-use digital tools and services. By 2024, GoDaddy wants to serve more customers in Egypt by making its digital tools more widespread.
The company is working closely with the Egyptian government, especially the Ministry of Planning. They are offering training programs to improve the digital skills of startups and existing businesses. GoDaddy’s services in Egypt include domain registration, web hosting, e-commerce solutions, and digital marketing tools.
Recent surveys support Bieber’s positive outlook for e-commerce in Egypt. They show a clear trend towards digital strategies among small businesses. Many are realizing the importance of having an online presence for their growth and success.
As GoDaddy continues its partnerships and supports government digital initiatives, its influence on Egypt’s digital landscape is growing. The company is committed to sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint. It aims not just for business growth but also to contribute to a sustainable and thriving digital economy in Egypt.
The 2028 projection indicates a vast potential for e-commerce, with GoDaddy playing a key role in this digital evolution.
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