Novakid maintains growth in 2022, launches 40-minute sessions

Novakid, a leading online English as a Second Language (ESL) platform and evolving EdTech company that is reinventing learning for children, maintained customer growth with approximately 70,000 new students across 50+ countries subscribing during 2022.

Importantly, Novakid achieved double-digit YoY revenue growth, with the share of long-term subscriptions (6 and 12 months) steadily increasing. Globally, over 20% of new subscription sales are attributed to referrals from current customers and NPS is trending at above 60% (best in class), evident in the improved customer retention figures. Novakid maintained high scores for customer satisfaction – an average of 96%, depending on the region – based on internal measurement methods conducted on a regular basis.

Over 10 million lessons have been delivered since 2017, of which nearly 4.5 million lessons were completed in 2022.

Novakid continued to strengthen its positions in global markets. Europe still accounts for the majority of the company’s client portfolio (55%) with the MENA region accounting for 25% of the client base and the Asia-Pacific region increasing to 20% of the total number of customers. 

“For 2023, we expect a challenging macro environment with expectations of economic downturn in Europe and beyond. Still, we anticipate that revenue to continue to increase YoY in 2023, and we hope to break-even this year,” said Max Azarov, CEO of Novakid.

2023 plans

The 25-minute one-on-one English lesson format will be upgraded to a 40-minute educational journey for young students. These extended sessions are at no additional cost to clients and include three elements: a fun, context-setting pre-lesson activity, the one-on-one lesson with a teacher and gamified self-practice ‘homework’ after the lesson. Since August 2022, Novakid has noted that the average time students spend on self-practice activities beyond structured, one-to-one lessons has tripled.

New product developments that are being considered for the platform are aimed at increasing the engagement with educational content to increase motivation to learn and support learning outcomes. The team is constantly researching and testing various options, including experiments with other subjects that could be added to the product line.

Recent research has indicated that increased time spent on homework and mini games has a positive impact on the retention rate. Additionally, the monthly retention rate of users who have watched comic-based videos is 149% higher than those who have not. Ultimately, more interaction with games, videos and additional content results in higher retention rates. This insight will drive curriculum and product development going forward.

“Our latest research shows that 66% of Novakid students are rated as ‘social’ and ‘easy to create a connection with’ by the teachers. Around half of our students learn best through play and experimentation and depending on the region, 75%-91% of children learn best individually rather than in a group. This tells us that our approach and revised 40-minute sessions will result in good learning outcomes for our students,” explained Dmitry Malin, COO of Novakid.

“In addition to product developments, we are planning to launch a programme aimed at new and existing ESL teachers. Our team is developing certified CPD courses and other elements that will allow teachers to undertake specialised training, browse a content library and engage with other teachers across the globe to share their knowledge in a like-minded community,” said Azarov.

“Our focus in the upcoming year will lie on further improving the value of our product for our customers. We will do this by continuing to invest in better UX for customers, and in high-quality content for our teachers helping them to be even better at teaching. We will continue expanding our offering beyond the one-to-one tutoring format. Specifically, we will continue to add self-learning activities and start introducing 1-many learning and practice products, said Malin.

“We are grateful for the trust that our families put in us to teach their children. The results of our young English learners remain the biggest achievement for Novakid,” concluded Azarov.

For more information about Novakid, please visit https://org.novakidschool.com/.