Data Literacy Academy, which provides data literacy upskilling for organisations, has raised more than half a million dollars in its pre-seed funding round, for its online learning platform and change programme services.
The $525,000 funding, which was led by Haatch Ventures, will be used to accelerate go to market across Europe, North America and the Middle East, and grow an international network of educators.
The UK Business Data Survey 2022 found that 85 percent of all UK businesses handle digital data, rising to almost all for those with 10 or more employees. Despite this, there is a dearth of data skills, with around a quarter of businesses saying their sectors have insufficient data skills, and almost half (46 percent) of businesses admitting to have struggled to recruit for roles that require data skills.
Data Literacy Academy says its mission is to help 10,000 businesses achieve data literacy by 2030. Working directly with data leaders in a business, it supports them to roll out a data literacy programme at scale across all teams.
Its programme teaches employees at all levels how to engage with and benefit from the data their organisation holds, bridging the gap between data experts and business teams. All classes are taught live by leading members of the data community, including data leaders from organisations including Gymshark.
Organisations like The Football Association, Ministry of Defence and Wesleyan are among the 30+ companies who took part in a recent private beta programme, which included hundreds of employees from the organisations involved.
Addressing data skills gap a priority
Fred Soneya, co-founder and partner, Haatch Ventures said addressing the global skills gap is a priority for governments and organisations around the world.
“Initiatives like Data Literacy Academy are critical to driving positive change in this area, by making learning about data interesting and relevant. We look forward to supporting the business through the next phase of growth.”
Other investors include Ufi Ventures as well as Jason Foster, founder and CEO of data and analytics strategy consultancy, Cynozure, who has also been named a non-executive director at Data Literacy Academy.
“Pre-seed funding is a hugely exciting time for any start-up – it’s the launchpad from which the future can develop,” said Greg Freeman, CEO and founder of Data Literacy Academy. “Having the backing of industry heavyweights like Jason Foster gives me even more conviction in our mission to become the go to educator for data literacy amongst business users. Data-led, data-literate organisations are the future of business, and we are proud to be helping them and their employees get there.”
“As businesses become increasingly reliant on data to aid more accurate decision making, data literacy is becoming the differentiator in achieving business success,” added Foster. “Having worked with hundreds of businesses on their data strategies over the years, it is clear that real value can only come when employees know how to interpret, engage, and make decisions with data.”