Doyobi

Doyobi is a Singapore-based edtech startup that builds a teacher-focused professional-development platform and a child-facing virtual learning environment to help educators teach coding, science and 21st‑century skills to children aged roughly 8–13 using interactive videos, projects and blended instruction[2][4]. Doyobi spun out of Saturday Kids in 2020, has raised seed / pre-Series A funding (reported $2.8M) led by Monk’s Hill Ventures, and its platform is used by about 2,000 teachers across more than ten countries with notable traction in Indonesia, the Philippines and parts of Africa[2][4].

High-Level Overview

• Mission: Doyobi’s stated purpose is to help kids become original thinkers and develop a sense of purpose by empowering teachers with engaging, tech-enabled curricula and training[5][4].
  - Investment philosophy: (Not applicable — Doyobi is a portfolio company, not an investment firm.)
  - Key sectors: Education technology (edtech), teacher professional development, K‑12 STEM and computational thinking[2][4].
  - Impact on the startup ecosystem: As an edtech spin‑out from an established learning brand (Saturday Kids), Doyobi demonstrates a path for instructional programs to scale via productized teacher tools and virtual learning environments, and it has attracted regional VC attention (Monk’s Hill) that may encourage further investment into teacher‑focused edtech across Southeast Asia[2][4].

For a portfolio company

• Product it builds: A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and interactive instructional content (videos, quizzes, Scratch coding projects and project templates) designed for teachers to deliver STEM lessons[2][4].
  - Who it serves: Primary customers are teachers and schools in K‑12 markets (teachers age groups teaching 8–13 year olds), with deployments in private schools, government‑supported programmes and teacher communities across Southeast Asia and other regions[2][4].
  - What problem it solves: Helps educators lacking time, resources or subject-matter confidence to teach coding and STEM by providing ready-made curriculum, teacher training and interactive class materials that translate into classroom delivery and student projects[2][3].
  - Growth momentum: Launched August 2020, reported adoption by ~2,000 teachers in 10+ countries and partnerships with programs like Code in the Community and several regional schools; secured $2.8M in pre‑Series A funding to expand courses and resources[2][4].

Origin Story

• Founding year and context: Doyobi was founded in 2020 as a spin‑off from Saturday Kids, a Singapore coding school with ~8 years of prior operating experience that highlighted scale limits of in-person programs[2][4].
  - Founders and background: Co‑founders include John Tan (CEO) and team members from Saturday Kids—Prerna Gupta, Greg Ho and Shawn Leong—bringing educator and edtech product experience from running Saturday Kids[4].
  - How the idea emerged: The founders sought to scale teaching impact beyond the thousands of students reachable via in‑person classes by equipping teachers with better curricula, interactive media and teacher training to deliver STEM at scale[2].
  - Early traction / pivotal moments: Early adoption included use by Code in the Community (a large free coding programme supported by Google and Singapore government agencies), partnerships with regional schools and initial sales leading to the $2.8M funding round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures[2][4].

Core Differentiators

• Teacher-first product design: Doyobi emphasizes teacher professional development and classroom‑ready assets rather than only student-facing apps, lowering the barrier for schools to introduce STEM[2][3].
  - Integrated VLE + content: Combines a virtual learning environment with interactive videos, Scratch projects, quizzes and project-based lessons so teachers can run blended classes with ready-made materials[2][4].
  - Evidence of market fit in SEA: Adoption across Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries shows regional product‑market fit for teacher enablement in emerging edtech markets[2][4].
  - Founded from practitioner experience: Origin as a spin‑off from a long-running coding school gives product credibility and classroom insight that pure‑tech entrants may lack[2][4].
  - Community and support: Runs teacher communities (e.g., Teachers As Humans) and provides peer support and training to increase teacher confidence and retention[2].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

• Trend alignment: Rides the teacher‑enablement and blended‑learning trend in edtech, which shifted focus during/after the pandemic toward scalable digital curricula and professional development for educators[2][4].
  - Timing: Many governments and schools are prioritizing STEM and computational thinking, creating demand for turnkey teacher solutions that Doyobi supplies[2].
  - Market forces in their favor: Shortage of trained STEM teachers, increasing adoption of digital classroom tools in Southeast Asia, and growing VC interest in regionally focused edtech startups[2][4].
  - Influence: By productizing teacher training and lesson assets, Doyobi helps mainstream the model of scaling instructional quality through teacher empowerment rather than solely through student apps, potentially shaping how other edtechs approach school sales and government programmes[2][4].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

• What’s next: Expect expansion of course catalogue, deeper school and government partnerships in Southeast Asia and Africa, and continued product development for teacher analytics and classroom workflows funded by recent VC backing[2][4].
  - Trends that will shape them: Continued government emphasis on STEM, demand for teacher professional development, and movement toward curriculum platforms that integrate with national standards and classroom management systems. These trends favor companies that offer teacher support plus ready‑to‑use digital materials[2][4].
  - How their influence may evolve: If Doyobi scales teacher adoption and demonstrates measurable classroom outcomes, it could become a go‑to supplier for ministries of education and large school networks seeking low‑friction STEM curriculum rollouts, amplifying its impact beyond direct classroom users[2][4].

Quick take: Doyobi is a practitioner‑led edtech startup focusing on *teacher empowerment* as the lever to scale STEM education; its early regional traction and VC backing position it to expand curriculum reach and formal partnerships that could materially influence how schools adopt coding and computational thinking in the region[2][4].