Mr. Christopher Bennett collects his winning prize for his entry in the JSE’s 2021 Venture Pitch, which was voted as the “best pitch” by the judges.
24-year-old Christopher Bennett, an educator by profession, personally believes that education in our country has been stagnant for too long and that this was made worse by the lack of preparation by our outdated education system. Mr. Bennett says, “the disruption has been there, but COVID-19 has highlighted the gap for us and the country needs to develop a hybrid model for education, with the increased ability to work and learn remotely”.
Thus, Edunomics was founded.
The Edunomics founder and CEO liken the business model to that of a streaming service like Netflix, which offers full use of the content for one flat fee.
Responses to questions asked of Mr. Bennett.
QUESTION: Why do you want to pitch your business?
RESPONSE: “As a teacher, I have seen what the extra mile you give to assist a student can do to them and their upbringing. But I am one person, and I can only do so much as one person. I want to share that outstretched hand with everyone. I believe that more can be done to educate our nation’s students and more should be done. I also believe that this company can change the lives of many and provide so much more than just lessons, but to make learning fun again”.
QUESTION: When did the business start and where?
RESPONSE: “Edunomics, was started by me solely on September 1, 2020, and operates from York Street, Linstead. St Catherine”.
QUESTION: Tell us about Edunomics.
RESPONSE: “Edunomics was founded because I have a passion for my students and learning. It is an online learning platform that aims not to teach students, but to educate a nation, by making learning accessible anywhere you go. It offers interactive video lessons, interactive work sessions, products, work sessions, and online tutoring with the best teachers and provides a community for students as they aim to learn and develop. It aims to make learning easy by providing the best quality and easy access to materials for the members. Edunomics currently offers learning videos and tests for the sciences and mathematics subjects on the active site edunomics.biz“.
QUESTION: How does the business function on a day-to-day basis?
RESPONSE: “On a daily basis questions are worked and uploaded to the site. A goal is set for the week for the amount of content that must be done and persons stick to the goal to ensure the site is functioning and ready. The team also includes content moderator, Ms. Tanieka Powell, who is based at Donald Quarry High. She collects the content and records”.
QUESTION: Where will the funds go?
RESPONSE: “The funds will be used to hire more persons and purchase equipment for the creation of content for the website and classes. It will also be used to revamp the website to make it more streamlined and to add more subjects to the content currently offered”.
QUESTION: What do you intend to do with the investment?
RESPONSE: “The investment would be aimed to market the company to Jamaican clients and in the future the wider Caribbean”.
Mr. Bennett wants to raise $500,000 in exchange for a 10 percent stake in the venture, to fund its expansion.
