Academy Xi
ENABLING PEOPLE AND COMPANIES TO THRIVE IN DIGITAL WORLD
The Foundation for Young Australians (FYA, 2017) estimate that 70% of young people currently enter the workforce in jobs that will be "radically affected by automation". Further, 40% of all Australian jobs are at high risk of automation in the next 10 -15 years. FYA estimates that more than half of Australian workers will require the skills to "use, configure or build digital systems" in the next 2-3 years.
The fundamental restructure of the Australian labour market that is now on the horizon is generating significant demand for future-focused skills. The demand for professionals with digital skills is significantly outstripping the capacity for traditional education providers to supply graduates. The OECD estimates that there are 2.6m workers in ICT-related roles in Australia in 2017, while traditional education providers produced just 8,000 graduates in ICT fields.
Enter Academy Xi.
Established in January 2016, AXi aims to change the world by educating the next wave of digital change-makers. AXi delivers education and training programs in key growth areas including: Service Design, User Experience and Growth Marketing. AXi’s programs are designed and delivered by leading industry experts and provide a pathway to new emerging careers where there are no traditional qualification pathways. To date, AXi has trained more than 3,200 students across campuses in Sydney and Melbourne.
The successful completion of a Series B investment in November 2018 - in which Pangaea Impact Investments was a co-lead - provides a strong base for the company to expand its campuses, courses and community engagement.
We are excited to be joining the Academy Xi team at such a key point in the company's growth and evolution.
Maths Pathway
DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED MATHS LEARNING
By 2030, it is estimated that 40% of current entry-level jobs will likely be replaced by technology-enabled automation. Producing students with the skills to succeed in this new economy is essential to Australia’s future economic prosperity and social cohesion. However, Australia's comparative performance on international benchmark studies of student achievement has steadily declined over the last decade.
According to the Grattan Institute, the typical Year 7 mathematics class in Australia has an average of an eight-year gap in mathematical proficiency between the highest and lowest-performing students.
To address this fundamental challenge, new approaches are required. Maths Pathway uses smart technology and a different approach to teaching and learning to dramatically improve maths learning. On average, students using Maths Pathway experience a doubling of learner growth. Today, more than 35,000 students and 2,000 teachers use Maths Pathway.
To find out more about Maths Pathway, click here.
Cluey Learning
IMPROVING LEARNING OUTCOMES THROUGH ONLINE TUTORING
Tutoring has the potential to significantly improve learning outcomes - particularly for at-risk students. According to Hock et al (2001):
"Improving the educational outcomes for students who are at risk for academic failure is an important issue for educators and policymakers. Recently, before- and after-school tutoring programs have been identified as having the potential to turn academic failure into academic success. Two studies were conducted to determine the efficacy of an after-school tutoring program. Results of the studies showed that at-risk students and students with learning disabilities who were failing classes could earn average or better grades on quizzes and tests if they had the support of trained adult tutors. Additionally, researchers found that tutors could teach strategies during their tutoring sessions and that students could learn the strategies while they worked on their class assignments. Finally, researchers found that some students continued to be successful after tutoring ended, indicating that they were able to use the strategy they had learned in a generative fashion.”
Cluey Learning provides online synchronous tutoring to both primary and secondary students across a range of discipline areas. In addition to providing students and parents with access to expert tutors, Cluey Learning also provides best-in-class online learning resources that adapt to the needs of individual students.
Pangaea invested in Cluey Learning as part of their Series A capital raise in February 2019. Pangaea is excited to be part of the Cluey Learning journey.
To find out more about Cluey Learning click here.
Driven
SCIENCE-BACKED RESILIENCE FOR ORGANISATIONS
Driven is an AI chatbot scientifically proven to build resilience. Already used by global and large scale organisations such as 3M, Unilever, IAG and Suncorp, Driven helps people stay on top of life through building resilience as a key preventative factor against mental illness.
For employers, Driven helps employees cope with some of the most important mental health issues of the modern age including stress, anxiety, and depression. Coming in the form of a fun and interactive chatbot that is available 24/7 and provides scientific resilience measurement alongside personalised daily 5-minute resilience building activities, the platform has led to a 25% increase in users’ resilience and 83% in job satisfaction.
The platform was developed by a trio in Australia; Jurie Rossouw, Luca Busin, and Susan Whitmore in 2017. The idea originated from Jurie experiencing first-hand the difficulties of seeking help for his mental health struggles from a young age, and his expertise of working as a Resilience Manager at companies including Commonwealth Bank and PwC. Since its initial launch, Driven has grown rapidly with hundreds of clients and over 10,000 users worldwide.
Driven is also bringing mental wellness to a wider audience through partnerships on a global scale with FirstWatch. Covering over 130 million Americans, clients of FirstWatch include 9-1-1 dispatch centers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and police, among others.
Pangaea Impact Investments is excited to invest in Driven alongside strategic investors, FirstWatch, and Giant Leap Fund, Australia's leading impact fund.
AbilityMade
LIFE-CHANGING MOBILITY EQUIPMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that there are 100 million people who need orthoses and currently only 1 in 10 receive them.
Despite having a world-leading medical system, Australia is also struggling to keep up with demand. We have just 1.09 Orthotists per 100,000 population - compared to the WHO guideline of 3 Orthotists per 100,000 population.
As a result, some families will wait up to 8 months just to get an appointment with an Orthotist. From here, Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFOs) can take up to 4-8 weeks to produce as the process involves traditional plaster casting and hand crafting using thermo-formed polypropylene.
AbilityMade is an innovative technology company engaged in the customisation and digital manufacture of custom-made medical devices. AbilityMade aims to help solve this problem - by partnering with Orthotists to leverage advances in 3D scanning and 3D printing to dramatically increase the supply of AFOs for children with a disability. AbilityMade’s products help Orthotists achieve the clinical results they expect and deliver effective, cutting-edge options and better experiences for their patients.
Pangaea Impact Investments is excited to be a foundation investor in AbilityMade.
Pollinate Energy
BRINGING LIFE CHANGING PRODUCTS TO PEOPLE WHO NEED THEM MOST
There are currently 65 million people living in urban slums in India, and this number is rapidly growing. Conditions in these slums are often unfit for people to live in. Universally accepted, basic needs, are simply missing. Many slums are not connected to grid electricity or mains water supply, forcing people to go without, or to resort to unsafe products. Families rely on harmful kerosene for their lighting needs, they drink unclean water, and cook with dirty cookstoves.
Working directly in the slum communities, Pollinate Energy provides access to life changing products. Pollinators sell durable, quality products such as solar lanterns, improved cookstoves, solar fans and water filters to families living in slum communities. Pollinate Energy offer all customers short term payment plans to make their products affordable. The rate of defaults on these plans is less than 1%. All Pollinate products have a minimum one year warranty and they provide post-sale servicing. This model allows families to save 15 per cent of their income, and improve their health, safety and quality of life.
Pollinate has sold almost 30,000 products, impacting the lives of over 123,000 people across 970 communities.
To find our more about Pollinate Energy, click here.
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