Online language academy, ABA English, has announced a $12m haul of growth capital in a round led by equity company Kennet Partners.
Claiming over 10 million users worldwide, the Barcelona-based company (with 90% of student users outside of Spain) aims to develop its ELT services, based on high-quality video content, into new markets including China and Turkey.
Javier Figarola, CEO and co-founder of ABA English, said that Kennet’s investment would take the company “to the next level”, helping it to “become the key training partner for organisations around the world.”
“Our key areas of interest, and hence focus of funds, are to continue enhancing the student experience”
“It will also allow ABA English to maintain its commitment to make learning English as accessible as possible to everyone through excellent mobile and web learning content,” he added.
Specifically, the company says it intends to develop its language learning methods to cater for businesses, “offering employees the opportunity and tools to improve their English speaking skills in a commercial context.”
Spokesperson Sol Nunez further told The PIE News: “Our key areas of interest, and hence focus of funds, are to continue enhancing the student experience. Product-wise we aim to offer further top-notch film content with surprising technologies.”
So far such technologies have included an award-winning app launched in 2015 that uses real-life scenarios to assist learning, offers teacher guidance and allows the course to be used across devices.
In a move that signalled ABA’s business interests even before the new investment was announced, the company recently signed an agreement with Cambridge English Language Assessment to offer the Business Language Testing Service (BULATS) exam, used to benchmark business courses and recruitment.
Robin Gravina, director of development at Cambridge English Language Assessment for Spain and Portugal, and signatory of the agreement, said: “BULATS is an exam that offers an exact X-ray of candidates’ business English skills. The ABA English methodology is particularly appropriate for BULATS given its situational focus and emphasis on developing the four skills [listening, reading, writing and speaking] evaluated by BULATS.”
