Kuepa Buys Bogotá Based First Class English, Raises Additional $3 Million USD To Fuel Latam Growth

Online learning and workforce development firm Kuepa.com has grown its Colombian presence by taking a majority stake in Colombian language school First Class English, which provides educational programs, test preparation, and exams for the corporate market in Colombia. First Class English has graduated over 10,000 professionals in English Language programs over the last eight years.

Kuepa plans to introduce its online and blended learning platform, content, and methodology to expand First Class’s reach in Colombia and Latin America. Over 30,000 young-adult students have taken vocational courses with their platform over the last three years. Kuepa currently employs more than 250 people across five countries, including over 90 teachers and tutors.

“We are very excited about this acquisition,” states Jorge Garcia, Director of Kuepa. “It will allow us to augment our services in Colombia, and provide quality English programs to our existing students and the corporate market. English is a fundamental skill for almost every job in Latin America, and we hope to contribute towards greater access for working adults in the region.”

“This is a great partnership for us,” explains Andrew Díaz, CEO of First Class English and who will continue his role in the organization, “because with Kuepa we can expand our reach and complete their workforce development offerings for corporate sector employees.”

Subsequent to this acquisition, announced earlier this summer, Kuepa has closed a $3 Million convertible loan from the Multilateral Investment Fund and Inicia Fund. This investment will allow Kuepa to continue opening new schools and expand its vocational training programs in Mexico, Colombia, and the rest of Latin America.

Kuepa President and Co-Founder Gabriel Sanchez Zinny states, “it’s a great opportunity to be working with MIF and Inicia in providing blended learning employability training in Latin American countries. Both institutions will add strong strategic vision and solid knowledge to our team.”

INICIA is a social investment fund whose objective is to strengthen educational systems in the region through innovation and investing in new ventures. The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), part of the Inter-American Development Bank, supports economic growth and poverty reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean through the encouragement of increased private investment, and advancing private sector development.