Leemons, an educational technology (edtech) start-up behind the LXP platform for data-driven learning, has raised $1.5 million in capital in its third investment round, with the company now ready to implement a go-to-market strategy.

Leemons is one of the alumni of the SuperCharger Ventures programme based in Mrieħel, Malta, which focuses on the edtech space. The start-up was part of the last cohort, ending in December 2023.

Just weeks later, it has managed to secure the capital required to take its next steps, following a successful investment round led by Swanlaab Venture Factory.

"We sat at the top table with some of the most relevant VCs in Spain and Mexico; they saw the potential of Leemons to disrupt the sector and seize the moment,” says Leemons Co-Founder Lula de León.

Speaking to WhosWho.mt, Ms de León admits that the fundraising round was “very hard”, involving “almost 6 months of contacts, pitches and conversations in a very complicated economic context of a slowdown in venture capital investment.”

The new investors are “everything a start-up could wish for,” she says. “We have been lucky enough to be able to choose and I think we have the best: Swanlaab as leaders of the round are an absolute example of skin in the game; they bring much more than capital and Leemons is benefiting enormously from the invaluable knowledge that Swanlaab Chairman Mark Kavelaars and his team share with us.”

The round is completed by an education fund with a long track record in Latin America (Estella Maris Partners), which will open doors in the market for Leemons, Ship2B Ventures, an impact fund that helps secure Leemons as a purpose-driven business, and the Binomial Investments Fund, a co-investor of Swanlaab that fell in love with the project at its official presentation.

She was also quick to highlight the “great support” the fledgling firm received from friends and family investors, helping it endure the wait to close the round: “Sometimes small investors are not given the value they deserve, and ours have been key to the success of this round.”

Asked how the experience with Supercharger Ventures in Malta helped the start-up, Ms de León said the expectation was initially to get in touch with a more international edtech ecosystem: “to reach agreements for pilots with local educational institutions, to establish win-win partnership relationships with other start-ups in the cohort and to assess our landing in Malta.”

She continues: “But I didn't expect such an incredible level both professionally and personally from my fellow cohort members. The programme has been very enriching in that respect. The international experience and the learnings have been many, and we have achieved the goal of reaching collaboration agreements with other start-ups.”

Over the past year, the Leemons team has been developing the SaaS version of the product, and with this round it is working on its internationalisation, with the intention of reaching different countries in Europe and the UK.

As for what comes next, Ms de León says that the freemium version of Leemons is set to launch at the end of January, while February will see the launch of the first paid plan with a wide range of tools at a very affordable price.

“The, in the spring, we will launch the intermediate plus level for companies with more functionality and customisation requirements.”

The Leemons CO-Founder says that “after more than two years of development and testing, the moment of truth has arrived for Leemons: the go-to-market in Europe and the UK, proving that the market wants Leemons.

“It is time to fulfil our commitment to our investors and make Leemons a profitable business.”