2021 ends in a big way for Políglota, a company that has just been awarded as the “Best Latin American Startup in Education” by the Global EdTech Startups Awards Latam 2021 that were delivered during the eighth edition of the International Congress of Educational Innovation (CIIE) of Tec from Monterrey —one of the best universities in Mexico—.
Founded in 2016 by Carlos Aravena, José Manuel Sánchez and Nicolás Fuenzalida, the award obtained at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey crowns the efforts and work invested since it launched its online model just a little over a year ago, in the 2020, making a commitment to adapt to the new reality.
This award reaffirms the intentions of the startup to expand throughout Mexico, where – until now – it has a presence in CDMX, Guadalajara, Monterrey and the State of Mexico. With more than 20,000 students throughout the region, those who chose Polyglot in the country did so to improve their tools with English, French and German and, a little further, with Portuguese and Italian.
“At Políglota we have a global dream: to connect people through languages. And always with a great focus on Latam, where only a small percentage of the population speaks a second language. For this reason, we are proud to know that the impact we are generating on the continent continues to grow, and that the work carried out by our incredible team and our community of hundreds of coaches is increasingly recognized ”, said José Manuel Sánchez, Co- founder of Políglota & CPO.
Regarding the reasons behind all the recent recognitions – which includes the nomination of Carlos Aravena in the list of the 100 Innovators 2021 of Bloomberg – Sánchez said that “this year he showed us that education needs new models that adapt to global changes” .
“Today the challenge is to achieve a quality online education that at the same time maintains the richness of social interactions. That is precisely the core of Políglota, a social method that allows you to learn languages and meet incredible people, “he said, about the essence of the startup.
Along the same lines, he added that “the world has rapidly globalized through remote work, and a person in Mexico, Chile or Colombia has many more possibilities of working in an international company, which made English the main tool for improve career opportunities. That is precisely our mission: to allow people to fulfill their dreams without language being a barrier ”.
Looking ahead to 2022, Sánchez advanced the projections he has for the startup. “This year will be one of great growth in Latin America, with special focus on Mexico and Colombia, and on preparing the entry into Brazil. We have the great objective of helping one million people to truly speak English in the next 3 years ”.
In addition, with a platform that prevents bullying, Políglota will represent Latin America in the global final of the Global EdTech Startups, which will be held in London on January 20 of the year that begins.
The growth of Polyglot
The Políglota platform was developed in 2016 as a face-to-face language school, which taught socially in different coffee shops in Chile, Peru and Mexico, until, due to the pandemic, it had to adapt its strategy and business model focusing on offering a social learning experience called “Online Groups”.
On the platform, the language is practiced with people of the same level and in small groups, there are expert coaches who provide communication skills, and flexible schedules are given.
Today, with its new online platform, the company has formed a social learning community with a monthly growth that was around 43% in 2021. In the middle of the year it was recognized as one of the most innovative companies in the world in Education in the 3rd edition of the “enlightED Awards 2020”, while in July it closed an investment round with Y Combinator together with different American and Mexican funds for US $ 2.5 million.
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