Tinder Co-Founder Invests in Software Development School for Filipinos
Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen is leading the pre-seed funding of educational tech startup Avion School, an online platform that will teach Filipinos everything they need to know to become software engineers in only 12 weeks.
According to a report by e27, the sum of the pre-seed funding is undisclosed, but it’s already attracted a number of investors, like venture capital firm Fourth Realm, which has invested in SpaceX.
Avion co-founder and CEO Victor Rivera started the company in May with COO John Young. The two are veterans in the startup scene, with Rivera having worked with PayMongo, WeClean, and Lalamove in the past, while Young has worked with PDAX and MedGrocer.
It was through PayMongo, a Phiippine startup success story, that Rivera met Mateen as the Tinder co-founder closed a capital infusion deal with PayMongo.
The co-founders will direct the new investment to “help finance the next 15 batches of students within the next 12 months,” said Rivera, adding that it will “allow us to bring over 400 new software engineering jobs into the market.”
What is Avion School?
Software development in the Philippines, and abroad, is growing in demand as more companies focus on boosting its digital platforms. Avion School is working to unleash the untapped potential of Filipinos by launching an educational platform that will help students learn software development.
The unique aspect of Avion School is that it does not demand payment upfront and will let enrollees for its services after they’ve been hired as software engineers. Avion will also help its graduates find employment opportunities.
Many brick-and-mortar businesses in the Philippines are closing, and unemployment is already on the rise as a result of the pandemic. Software development is a flexible career that is still in high demand, and through Avion School, interested applicants can expand their skillset in frontend and backend development, regardless of their prior experience in coding.
“We know the struggle of learning to code. This is why we try very hard to ensure that the courses we design are not just for computer science students, but also non-technical students,” said Rivera to e27.
Avion School has also been ranked as the top educational tech startup in the Asia and Oceania region by Pioneer, a San Francisco-based accelerator.
