After receiving Business Line Last November, at the Young Changemaker Awards 2023 ceremony, Shrinidhi RS, CEO of Cherrilearn (an education technology startup), received a surprise call at his office in Puttur, Karnataka, from a BL reader who wanted to accompany him on his journey.
The BL reader, who wished to remain anonymous, is currently sponsoring the Cherrilearn app for 1,000 public school students.
“That’s the power of the bl Young Changemaker Awards,” Srinidhi said. Business Line About his journey since receiving the Changemaker Award.
His EdTech startup provides interactive learning solutions to students of standards 1-5 in tier 3-4 centres at as low as Rs 1 per day through the Cherrilearn app. Affordability, regional language content and rural reach are the USPs of Cherrilearn app. For just Rs 1 per day, you get an e-learning app in English and regional languages. Designed by certified academic experts, it enhances the learning skills of students from classes 1 to 5 in a fun way.
Shrinidhi RS, Cherrilearn CEO
He said he has received good support for his efforts, with small businesses also coming forward to support public school students.
Now, he is expanding vertically in terms of increasing classes and medium of instruction.
The app was available in Kannada and English until a year ago, but is now available in Hindi as well. “We have launched the beta version of the NCERT syllabus in Hindi and students from north India are now using it,” he said.
Srinidhi, who wants to extend the benefits of the app to classes from 1st to 5th and above, said, “We have uploaded content for class 6 in the beta version. It has been made available in a few government schools in Dakshina Kannada district.” From next academic year, students in classes 6 and 7 will also be able to enjoy the benefits of the Cherrilearn app.
He said these expansions will continue by adding more classes and medium of instruction and that in the coming years, students who are about to sit their 10th board exams will be given the opportunity to prepare for their board exams by paying one rupee a day.
After winning the bl young Changemaker Award, Shrinidhi’s Cherrilearn was also selected as one of the top 100 startups in the Karnataka government’s prestigious startup competition.
He said that around 900 startups across Karnataka have participated in Elevate Karnataka, a flagship programme of the IT-BT department of the Karnataka government. Every year, 100 startups are selected by the government. The programme helps startups get grants from the Karnataka government.
Srinidhi said that Cherirawn’s selection for ‘Elevate Karnataka 2023’ will significantly broaden the school’s reach and enable it to make a positive impact on a larger scale. This is perfectly aligned with Cherirawn’s mission of empowering students from underprivileged sections, she said.
Further praise
Cherrilearn was also named among the top 50 companies in the Tata Social Entrepreneurship Challenge.
About 16,000 people took part in the competition, and Cherirarn is one of 50 finalists. As part of the competition, he said he will attend a four-day program at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta in September.
The Changemaker Awards 2024 will be held in New Delhi on September 13. The guest of honour will be Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Hindu Business Line The Changemaker Awards are presented by SASTRA University as the presenting partner and sponsored by SBI (State Bank of India). The event is also supported by associate partners such as LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India), J&K Bank, NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation of India), Union Bank of India, NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation of India), ESSAR, Punjab & Sind Bank, Swelect Energy, and Indian Bank. Casagrand is the real estate partner and Fortinet is the cybersecurity partner. The event is further boosted by NDTV 24×7 as the television partner. The knowledge partners for the awards are Deloitte and Ashoka and the validation partner is Niiti Consulting.
