Kipin: Bringing Digital Education to Every Child, No Internet Required

By Steffina Yuli, CBO

If you walk into a school in Jakarta, you’ll likely see students on tablets, accessing online resources with high-speed internet. But travel just a few hours to a rural village, and the picture looks very different. No WiFi, no digital books, no modern learning tools—just chalk, blackboards, and outdated textbooks shared among students.

This stark contrast is what inspired  Kipin Edtech, a startup on a mission to bring quality digital education to every student in Indonesia, whether they have internet access or not. Kipin recently won first place in Temasek Foundation’s Special Track for the Global EdTech Startup Awards, and this is our story. 

A Founder’s Journey: Turning Frustration into Impact

Growing up in Indonesia, I saw firsthand how education could either unlock a child’s potential or limit it entirely. I remember visiting a rural school where students were still using outdated, torn textbooks from years past. The teacher told me she often used her own salary to photocopy worksheets because her students had no other learning materials. That moment stuck with me. Why should access to knowledge depend on where a child is born?

Before joining Kipin, I had the opportunity to work in amazing companies like Boston Consulting Group and Tokopedia – these gave me world-class experiences that still form the foundations of Kipin today.

For me, education always felt like the space where I could make the most meaningful impact. Kipin was the perfect opportunity to combine technology, social impact, and scale, to create a solution that wasn’t just innovative, but truly useful for the students who needed it the most.

One of the most powerful moments in my journey was when we introduced Kipin to a school deep in Indonesia’s rural regions. The principal looked at the device, browsed through the thousands of digital books, and started tearing up. When we asked why, he said: "For the first time, my students have the same learning opportunities as kids in big cities." That’s the kind of impact that fuels us every day.

Making Cutting Edge EdTech Accessible to Everyone

At its core, Kipin is about bridging the digital divide in the most practical way possible. Our flagship product, Kipin Classroom, is an offline-first smart device that functions as a portable digital library, loaded with over 60,000 books, videos, quizzes, and literacy comics. With just one Kipin device, an entire school can access a world of knowledge at their fingertips and go digital. 

But what most people don’t know is that Kipin wasn’t started as a tech business. It was born out of a deep frustration with how traditional education systems fail students in low-resource areas. We knew that simply providing internet-based solutions wouldn’t work for the millions of students who don’t have reliable access. So instead, we designed technology that works with the reality of rural schools, and meets them where they are.

And the impact has been remarkable:

• Over 3,000 schools across 20 provinces in Indonesia are using Kipin.

• We’ve reached 350,000+ teachers and 1M+ students, transforming the way they learn and unlocking the digital era for them.

• Our work has earned recognition from GESAwards (Special Track with Temasek Foundation), TIME Magazine, MIT x Octava, World Summit Awards, HolonIQ and more.

But at the heart of it all, Kipin is about giving every child the opportunity to learn, dream, and succeed, no matter where they live.

Winning the GESAwards: A Moment of Validation and Opportunity

Winning the GESAwards Special Track with Temasek Foundation was a powerful validation of our mission. Our win showed that innovation isn’t just about advanced technology, it’s about making real change happen, even in the toughest conditions. Beyond the recognition, GESAwards connected us to an incredible global community of education innovators, investors, and change-makers. It reinforced the idea that education inequality is a global challenge, and together, we can share solutions that work across different countries and contexts.

Through the GESAwards network, we met Temasek Foundation, whose dedication to impact-driven education initiatives has helped us think even bigger. We also connected with other startups solving similar problems in Africa, India, and Latin America, showing us that while our local challenges may differ, the mission remains the same: making education accessible for all.

Steffina Yuli accepting the Temasek Foundation special track award at the GESAwards finals in London

Lead with Impact: Our Advice to the Next Generation of EdTech Founders

If I could give one piece of advice to next year’s candidates, it would be this:

• Focus on real impact, not just innovation. The best solutions aren’t the ones with the flashiest tech, but the ones that truly reach and uplift students and teachers.

• Engage with the GESAwards community. The relationships you build here could lead to partnerships, mentorship, and new opportunities that will take your startup to the next level.

• Stay mission-driven. Awards and recognition are great, but the real measure of success is the difference you make in students' lives. Keep your mission at the core of everything you do.

What’s Next for Kipin?

In 2025, Kipin is set to make its biggest impact yet. We are rapidly scaling to reach 10,000 more schools across Indonesia, working closely with governments, NGOs, and corporate partners to bring digital learning to even the most remote communities. Our technology is also evolving. We are developing AI-powered learning tools that personalize education for students, even in offline environments, ensuring that every child can learn at their own pace.

Beyond Indonesia, we are exploring opportunities to expand Kipin’s model to other developing countries facing similar education challenges. The demand for accessible, offline-first digital education is growing, and we are eager to adapt our solution to new regions where it can make a real difference. At the same time, we are strengthening our global partnerships with organizations like Temasek Foundation and leading education innovators to amplify our impact on an even greater scale.

But more than any of these milestones, what excites me most about 2025 is the thought of millions more students gaining access to quality education, unlocking their potential, dreaming bigger, and shaping a brighter future.

Final Thoughts

Kipin’s journey started with a simple belief: education should be a right, not a privilege. Winning the GESAwards has only strengthened our resolve to keep pushing forward, until every school, every teacher, and every student has the tools they need to succeed.

We’re just getting started.