Fiction Express, the innovative book platform that connects students with professional authors to encourage and improve reading skills through co-creation mechanisms and creative dialogue, closes a new investment round of more than 600,000 euros. The round was co-led by Equity4Good, a vehicle managed by Ship2B with the co-investment of the European Investment Fund, and two business angels from Barcelona, experts in B2B enterprises and internationalization.
This new investment will allow Fiction Express to launch the first phase of its five-year strategic plan, which “plans to strengthen the company’s commercial structure in Spain and boost the tool in the country,” according to its co-founder and CEO, Sven Huber. To date, three institutional agreements have already been closed, the largest with the Junta de Castilla y León with a pilot test of 40 schools. The second phase “will allow expansion into new countries, with the ultimate goal of reaching more than 10 million students in 50 countries by 2025,” its partners added.
Since the tool was launched in England in September 2017, Fiction Express has provided readings to thousands of students in 20 countriesin Europe, Latin America and Asia. “Reading comprehension is the basis of knowledge. It is proven that if you don’t understand what you read, you don’t learn and you don’t get good school results. That is why we focus on this area, and we do so through participatory experience, based on co-creation and interaction with the author,” says Cristina Puig, co-founder and sales and marketing director.
Born as part of Boolino, Fiction Express is now a referent in the Spanish educational sector for its commitment to globalization. This has earned the startup the recognition of several worldwide organizations both in EdTech and in educational content:
- January 2020: BETT Awardswinners 2020 (UK)
- December 2019: Education Investors Awardswinners 2020 (UK)
- September 2019: Teach Primary Awardswinners 2020 (UK)
- July 2019:TOP20 Innovators Awardswinners 2020 (US)
- March 2019: Education Resources Awardswinners 2019 (UK)
Free service for three months
Due to the Coronavirus affectationsin the school calendar and the closure of schools in several Autonomous Communities, Fiction Express has decided to open up the platform for the next three months free of charge for all schoolsthat request it in any of the three languages available: English, Spanish and Catalan.
Schools can register for free on the platform, choose the language in which they want to read and they will automatically be registered with access to hundreds of available reading books, thousands of online activities (also in pdf) and a system of evaluation and measurement of results with which teachers can remotely measure and evaluate the performance of each of their students.
About Fiction Express
Fiction Express is a leading company in promoting children’s and youth reading in Spain. Its founding partners, Sven Huber and Cristina Puig add more than 40 years of experience in the publishing, educational and entrepreneurial sectors. In order to promote reading, in 2011 they developed Boolino, the largest reading recommendation platform whose mission was to change the lives of millions of children through reading and education.
In 2017, the partners migrated to a 100% digital environment under the Fiction Express brand and began to internationalize the project with the launch in the Anglo-Saxon market. In 2018, they launched the solution in English in Spain and began their journey to Latin America and some countries in the Middle East. As of today, the platform is used in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia, with thousands of registered students. Fiction Express is the culmination of years of work and has become the most awarded EdTech solution in Spain. During 2019, Fiction Express has been recognized for its innovation and educational impact with several of the most prestigious international education awards, including the Education Resources Awards 2019, the Teach Primary Awards 2019 and the Bett Awards 2020, considered the Oscars in education.
About Equity4Good and Ship2B
Equity4Good is the impact investment vehicle managed by Ship2B and co-invested by the European Investment Fund. Endowed with four million euros, Equity4Good has invested in 10 startups with social and environmental impact, including Qida, Pensium, Neki and Psious.
Ship2B’s goal is to boost the Impact Economy, an economic model where the main objective of companies, investors and organizations is no longer only to maximize their economic profitability, but also their social or environmental impact. To achieve this, Ship2B accelerates and invests in high-impact startups, fosters Corporate Impact Venturing as an innovation strategy for corporate companies, and drives impact investment by managing investment vehicles such as Equity4Good.