‘iProf is planning a mass media campaign to reach out to tier-II & -III cities’
iProf, one of the leading m-learning marketplace, has achieved a milestone of one million downloads mark in 127 days since its inception in December 2014 and claims to capture No.1 position in education category at Google play store. In an interaction with Voice&Data, Sanjay Purohit, Founder CEO, iProf India, talks about its key differentiators and how it is growing as an education app across the country.
Voice&Data:
How is iProf helping in mlearning marketspace in India?
With mobile reaching every pocket, m-learning is now trending in India. With the world’s third largest Internet user base, mobile devices in education are becoming ubiquitous and it makes sense to deliver education on a platform that is integral to students and teachers’ personal and professional lifestyles.
Mobile perfectly suits into quick burst of information, which allows user on-demand and just-in-time learning. M-learning has become a boon for students who want to pursue education and individuals who want to acquire training for specific skill sets but don’t have the access to the right set of teachers or institutes. With mobile prices reducing dramatically, mobiles are reaching the remotest of the areas and at the same time, are being used extensively by people from all ages. This is one of the primary reasons why m-learning will flourish at a much faster pace.
iProf, has already served digital content to six million+ users since its incep-
Sanjay Purohit:
tion. We see iProf app as the largest and fastest growing m-learning marketplace where everybody from a student to a working professional can find something to learn for themselves. We have already started our journey with the vision to serve digital content to 50 million+ students in India by 2016.
Voice&Data:
Tell us something about your mobile app platform…
iProf-Study Buddy App, launched in December 2014, completed one million downloads on Google Play store in just 127 days and ranked as No.1 free education app.
iProf app that aims to deliver an unprecedented mobile experience by turning touch screen android smartphones into personal study device giving students a range of exciting features like study online with free courses from renowned faculties, unlimited practice tests, videos and notes library and study offline by downloading courses directly on mobile starting at nominal price of Rs 10 or getting it home delivered preloaded on a SD card or PenDrive. We are now working on launching courses from diverse streams like engineering, finance, project management and many more software learning courses.
Sanjay Purohit:
Voice&Data:
How are you planning to reach out to India’s hinterland?
iProf gets its maximum reach in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore with 30 percent of users coming from metros. However, the response received in tier-II and tier III cities is equally overwhelming. iProf is reaching out to cities like Nagpur, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Pune, Indore, including major cities of Gujarat and West Bengal too.
Sanjay Purohit:
The trend shows that tier-II and III will expand as the growth drivers of the future and iProf is soon planning a mass media campaign including TV to reach and spread to these cities.
Voice&Data:
Which are your key differentiators that make you stand out in the crowd?
Sanjay Purohit:
iProf positions itself as the largest and the fastest growing mlearning marketplace.
The key differentiators that make us stand ahead in competition includes delivering the best quality digital educational content curated from wellknown publishers; wide array of 2,000+ courses ranging from KG(Kindergarten) to PG(Postgraduate); effective pricing strategy which allows users to buy courses on the basis of subjects, chapters and topics, as per their preference on various devices; robust logistics with strong operations team in place; right education counselling and course selection with a dedicated call centre and a solid investment in brand building.
Voice&Data:
What are the challenges in the digital learning space today?
The online education sector witnessed a lot of investments this year in the country, with the entry of new players through acquisitions, partnerships and many other new initiatives. The key challenger of growth in this sector are portability, pricing, transcoding the content from its original form to digital/mobile ready format, technology’s’ adaptability by user and internet penetration in the country.
Founder & CEO, iProf India
Sanjay Purohit:
x-krishnam@cybermedia.co.in