Rocket Learning: Unlocking the Potential of Early Childhood Education with Digital Solutions.
Co-founder of Rocket Learning, Namya Mahajan, joins us to share an extraordinary journey and remarkable work.
Rocket Learning is a non-profit organization on a mission to revolutionise early childhood education (ECE) and early childhood development (ECD) in India by working closely with governments, parents and caregivers to create strong digital content that helps children develop during their early years.
In this episode, we explore Rocket Learning's remarkable journey, from their idea to the impact they have today. Namya Mahajan's personal and professional journey is compelling: growing up in India, gaining both an undergraduate degree in applied mathematics and an MBA from Harvard University, followed by a return to India to work at McKinsey & Co and then venturing into the social impact space, first at the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and then co-founding Rocket Learning.
With a mission to help children aged 3 to 8 years, Rocket Learning creates strong digital content for parents and caregivers to engage in useful and playful learning experiences with their children.
Leveraging WhatsApp as their communication platform, they currently serve one million children in seven states in India, but despite this they still sometimes refer to themselves as a "pilot at scale" due to the immense need for their services in the country.
In this episode, we explore their successful market entry, digital content creation, and scaling strategies, as well as their remarkable journey from idea to impact.
They have successfully secured funding and support from a range of organizations, including the Central Square Foundation, ACT Grants, the Veddis Foundation, the Harvard University Impact Fellowship Fund, MIT Solve, World Economic Forum, Google.org, Microsoft, Amazon, and Capgemini, among others.
Join us for an inspiring conversation on the power of digital solutions for early childhood education and development, with Rocket Learning.
About Namya Mahajan
Since launching Rocket Learning with her co-founders, Namya has worked with organizations in Peru, South Africa, Kenya, and China to advocate for policy reform around Early Childhood Education investment.
In India, Rocket Learning supported one of the most successful and large-scale primary education reform campaigns called "Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi (education along with nutrition). Along with headlining Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2022 for Social Impact, she is also a Draper Richards Kaplan Social Entrepreneur and an MIT Solve judge for their global Education and Future of Work challenges, where she mentors young social entrepreneurs, especially women and POCs.
Namya started her career at McKinsey & Co before leading SEWA’s Cooperative Federation (SEWA is India’s largest non-profit working with women in the informal economy).
She is an alumna of HBS and received an A.B. from Harvard (Applied Math/Econ). Namya believes strongly in the power of communities and young people.