Contxto – Edtechs are all the rage right now, including those that tender to businesses’ employees as is the case with Colombian Ubits.
This startup’s number of active users has tripled during quarantine and the amount of companies requesting a demo has increased tenfold. The edtech also expects the momentum to continue and its growth rate to double throughout 2020.
The startup currently operates in Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.
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Ubits’ plans
Unlike platforms Crehana and Platzi that cater to both individuals and companies, Ubits is a full-time B2B.
Correspondingly it curates classes that to tender to the needs that companies often call for. Its content catalog offers 350 courses for users to develop technical as well as soft skills, all in Spanish. Among its offerings are classes on how to use Excel, data analysis, budgeting, leadership, to name a few.
- Related article: Edtechs Crehana and Platzi experience user bonanza
In a press release, Ubits stated that work is underway to develop certified products. Through these offerings, coursework can be measured and companies can see how it impacts employees’ levels of productivity.
Plus, in light of the inevitable economic slowdown, the edtech plans to launch content for handling stress as well as finance management.
Increasingly accessible technology is automating and making many processes more efficient. With the economic slowdown, businesses may reevaluate what jobs can be kept and which have lost their purpose because of tech.
As a result, those who have the right technical and personal skills may still stand a chance.
So, the timing for Ubits’ stress-management course couldn’t be better. The inbound recession will be weighing down heavily not only on countries’ economies, but more importantly, on the spirits of Latam’s inhabitants.
It’s gonna get (very) ugly
I’m an optimist, but the way in which many economies in Latin America are built prime them for big-time trouble. Consider the following:
- Remittances are a major source of sustenance for countries with high levels of emigration. With unemployment rising in more developed countries, this will have a negative knock-on effect on families back home.
- Tourism is at a total standstill right now and many people are postponing their travel plans. Moreover, as unemployment grows and money gets tighter, people will vacation less. All of which also places the hospitality industry in a more critical position.
- Countries in Latam are dependent on their exports towards China and that’s been slowed down significantly as well.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) was quite explicit in a recent statement:
The crisis the region is going through in 2020, with a 5.3 percent drop in GDP, will be the worst in its history. To find an equivalent in magnitud one would have to go all the way back to the Great Depression in 1930 [-5 percent] or farther back still to 1914 [-4.9 percent].
Related articles: Tech and startups from Colombia!
-ML
