Website : www.floa.education
Great Companies: How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
FLOA Education: In India we have schools which are run under various education boards like - ICSE, IGCSE, CBSE, State Board as well as Government Universities, Deemed Universities, etc. We have private unaided schools / colleges, aided schools / colleges, ZP Schools, Municipal Corporation school, etc. Primary education of subjects like History, Geography, English, Mathematics, Science, Hindi, etc. is available across the country. The quality of education offered depends upon the financial capacity of the parent. Study of Foreign Languages is the only subject which is unavailable to students coming from all social and financial backgrounds. Foreign Languages are part of the curriculum in very few schools in the urban areas and its external study is also not affordable to everyone. We found this gap and started working on a project to make foreign language education available and affordable to every student irrespective of their socio-economic status.
Great Companies: What are the various services provided by FLOA Education?
FLOA Education: We are a Education Software Company. We offer various software required in the education sector. Our Foreign Language Education Software is very well appreciated and is implemented in 200+ schools and a few colleges, companies from 10 states of India. English Medium, Semi English, Hindi Medium, Marathi Medium, Urdu Medium, etc. schools / colleges from CBSE, ICSE, State Board, ZP Schools, Municipal Corporation Schools as well as Engineering Colleges, Polytechnic Colleges, etc are registered with us and are implementing this application for their student / adult candidates.
Great Companies: What makes FLOA Education different from hundreds of other similar service providers?
FLOA Education:
We are here to provide knowledge of those subjects which are not available in mainstream education. Especially foreign language education is the need of time. Normally the students get to know about many opportunities once they start attending senior college after 12th std. We feel it is too late. If the students are introduced to a foreign language at early stages it will help them get some direction for their career. We have made foreign language education available at an affordable cost. The study material that we provide is completely free of cost and we charge only exam fees which are very nominal.
Great Companies: What are the struggles and challenges you face?
FLOA Education: The most important thing was funding for this kind of an activity. Though we are not an NGO, we function like one. Our autonomous syllabus study material is in the form of recorded videos and downloadable PDF booklets. Finding language professionals who are comfortable facing a camera was the second task. Creating the content was overall a huge responsibility which needed great teamwork.
Though the exams fees are the same for all students, we drive this in 3 different categories depending upon the school type. For those schools which already have foreign language as a part of their curriculum, this is a competitive exam based on the autonomous syllabus provided by FLOA. For the old English Medium schools and CBSE Schools in the outskirts of every city we provide this as an opportunity based project for students.
And for the underprivileged students we drive it with the help of social organizations like Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, Inner Wheel Clubs and other such NGOs, etc. where these social organizations create an awareness amongst the students and if required also sponsor the exam fees for these students. CSR Funding is also one support that we are desperately looking for to support our initiative.
Great Companies: How do you plan to grow in the future? What do 5 years down the line look like for FLOA Education?
FLOA Education: The process was a little slow during the Covid days, as the entire education system was running online. Additionally this online course felt like a burden on top. But now the schools are welcoming us and are implementing it at a large scale. Teachers are also enrolling with us and benefiting from the same. 5 years down the line we target 1,00,000 educational institutes implementing this and maximum students from all socio-economic backgrounds should be learning the basics of foreign languages. Creating lakhs of success stories is the dream we see with open eyes.
Great Companies: If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
FLOA Education: It is really difficult to create your own product and stand out in the market. There will be a lot of ups and downs but stay strong with your idea, believe in your vision and keep pushing yourself to achieve your goal. Track your business activities weekly. This actually gives you a better understanding of the difference between your current situation and the goal to be achieved. Avoid irresistible expensive show-offs. Take wise decisions, Keep working hard and don't give up.