Significant progress made, well positioned for further material growth in 2022 led by operations in India
Dev Clever, a leading developer of online and immersive career guidance and development platforms, is pleased to provide the following trading update for the financial year ended 31 October 2021 (“FY21”).
Summary of Trading for period ended 31 October 2021
The Company made significant progress in FY21 with revenue expected to be circa £7.4m, an increase in the region of 500%, on the previous financial year (FY20: £1.2m). This figure includes an initial recognised amount of £3.6m for the first phase of the Company’s innovative partnership collaboration with Aldebaron DMCC. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be materially ahead of management’s expectation. The Company ended the year with net cash of £7.5m.
Summary of operational progress
During FY21, Dev Clever made substantial operational progress with its bespoke partnership model and relationship agreements with Veative Laboratories, the National Independent Schools Alliance (“NISA”), Aldebaron DMCC and the CSC Academy in India (“CSC Academy”), as well as building on its existing market positions in the UK and US.
India
In India, Dev Clever made progress in line with its agreements with NISA and CSC Academy, and the roll-out of the Company’s capabilities to NISA-affiliated Budget Private Schools is presently ahead of schedule. As at 26 November 2021, over 1,000 Budget Private Schools comprising c.500,000 pupils had Dev Clever capabilities in operational use, this being 25% greater than the original internal partnership forecast. Non-NISA-affiliated schools have also begun to approach Dev Clever directly, significantly widening the pool of opportunity from the c.70,000 NISA-affiliated Budget Private Schools to the wider Budget Private School ecosystem of c.300,000 schools that exist in addition to the 1.1m public sector schools. The Company will continue to on-board users in a controlled manner.
As previously announced, the Group’s partnership with the government-backed CSC Academy will progress to Phase Two in calendar Q1 2022, further underlying its initial success. Dev Clever’s proprietary immersive career guidance and learning platform will be rolled out to all CSC Academy centres across India, covering 2.6m students. Dev Clever will receive a one-off on-boarding fee and an annual SaaS-based subscription fee for each student, to be paid directly by the CSC Academy on behalf of the student. As a result of the success to date, the Company has now commenced initial conversations with other regional government departments in the country.
UK
Dev Clever completed the successful acquisition of The Inspirational Learning Group (“TILG”) in July 2021, enabling it to adopt and rebrand its physical programme The National Enterprise Challenge (“TNEC”) to The National Career Challenge (“TNCC”) and allow employers to gain exposure to young people and promote the skills needed to fulfil their future workforce requirements. More than 300 schools representing over 50,000 students in the UK are already confirmed to participate in TNCC, with those schools also signing up to the adopt the Company’s Launchmycareer.com platform. TNCC officially launched on the 4 October at an event hosted at Thorpe Park and has already secured sponsorship and participation from organisations and employers including PWC, NatWest, Santander, Merlin Entertainments, Air Products and Tesco.
The Group will be replicating the success of TNCC globally in partnership with Aldebaron, alongside its passion driven social platform client, to provide employers with the ability to connect with school children around the world and engage them through content, interactive work experiences and challenges to promote future employment and inspire them to develop the skills that employers require. The rollout of TNCC remains on track for launch in India for calendar H1 2022. The Company anticipates that this will further accelerate market and student penetration in India and drive a move into other territories around the world.
Dubai
To facilitate the growth of the Company’s international operations and support the Aldebaron roll-out into emerging markets, Dev Clever has opened an office in Dubai. With over 80% of Fortune 500 companies (including all of the top ten) having operations in the United Arab Emirates, this new office will serve Dev Clever as both its employer marketing and global distribution hub. The Company is intending to showcase some of the initial user propositions that have been developed and tested in FY21 at an employer event, The Future World of Work, in the early part of 2022. The event will encourage employers to join the platform and give young people throughout the world insight into workforce requirements and jobs of the future.
North America
Our North American progress has been slower than expected as a direct result of COVID-19, due to school closures and other associated restrictions. However, the Company is beginning to see an uplift in orders following the relaxation in restrictions and is currently working with Lenovo and its partners to accelerate the rollout of its platforms, including those that are pre-installed on Lenovo VR Classroom devices.
Update on Veative Acquisition
The Company confirmed, as announced on the 28 October 2021, that the detailed due diligence process in respect of the acquisition of Veative Labs Private Ltd (“VLPL”) was completed and the share purchase agreement exchanged. Completion of the VLPL acquisition remains subject to the publication of a prospectus which is in the process of being approved by the FCA.
Corporate Websites
The Company is also pleased to announce that it has launched its updated websites www.devcleverholdingsplc.com and www.devclever.co.uk to better showcase its current operations, operational developments and focus on the global EdTech markets.
Chris Jeffries, CEO of Dev Clever, said:
“The Group has grown significantly over the last two years, from a solid UK base to a meaningful international hub for innovative e-learning and progressive career development. We are doubling down on our platform, content, people, partner and infrastructure investments to support the scaling of our proprietary EdTech platform globally. The demand for our education services, which are now being offered in person and virtually, emphasised by the pandemic, is clear to see and our focus remains on ensuring we take advantage of the huge opportunity ahead of us.”
