Escola Mais, Bahema’s Bet to Bring Quality Education to the Lower-Middle Class
- Mint Capital
- 17 de jun.
- 2 min de leitura
Although Bahema owns prestigious constructivist schools like Escola da Vila and Escola Parque—where average monthly fees hover around R$ 3,000—its most scalable initiative is Escola Mais, targeting the affordable tier of private education.
Launched in 2017 by business administrator José Aliperti, Escola Mais offers each student a computer, full‑time education, bilingual instruction, and extracurricular activities. While reminiscent of high-end concept schools, it costs much less: 13 monthly payments of R$ 760 for elementary school and R$ 860 for high school.
This appeals to families who had been paying for lower-quality private schools and desired better pedagogy but couldn’t afford premium pricing:
“These parents seek private schools for more structure and safety than public schools, but are disappointed by the educational outcomes,” says Aliperti.
The COVID-19 pandemic, despite hitting many schools hard, accelerated enrollment at Escola Mais. Many families switched to the school seeking affordable quality. As a result, early 2021 saw a significant investment round of R$ 50 million, fueling robust growth. The chain expanded from just 60 students in 2018 to 2,200 across four units, with an ambition to reach 16 schools and 15,000 students by 2025. Cássio Beldi, Chair of Bahema Educação, highlights the national scalability: “Escola Mais has expansion potential across Brazil, unlike regionally rooted schools like Escola Parque.”
Technology as a Driver of Quality and Cost Efficiency
Brazil has over 179,000 schools serving 47.3 million students, with 41,000 being private and mostly single-campus. To offer quality at low cost, Escola Mais leverages technology:
Traditional classes: 30–40 students per group.
Tech learning lab: Groups of up to 80 split into digital stations, each using a computer tailored to their academic needs.
Maker Lab: Hands-on group activities—ranging from ceramics to programming—with English-only interaction encouraged.
By using EdTech, the school reduces staff-to-student ratios while providing tailored learning. It partners with Evolucional, which operates testing platforms in 2,400 Brazilian schools, to monitor quality. In 2020, students at Escola Mais showed academic progress seven times above average in math and five times in Portuguese, per Evolucional data.
Lower Costs via American-Style Facilities
Escola Mais optimizes its physical infrastructure by using American-style shared classrooms, resulting in around 6 m² per student versus 10–12 m² typical elsewhere—thus reducing real estate costs. During the pandemic, classes moved online without tuition changes. In-person classes later resumed with smaller, rotating cohorts and safety protocols. The school also shared its digital lessons with public school students in cities like São Paulo, Salvador, Petrópolis, and Teresópolis, offering free access to about 40,000 learners.
Founders and Funding Rounds
Aliperti, originally from banking and industrial family business, founded Kidu in 2012, an extracurricular activity platform for public schools—via venture capital—but closed it in 2016 after public funding cuts. He later teamed with Günther Mittermayer and pedagogue Marina Castellani to develop Escola Mais. Bahema provided angel capital initially, followed by R$ 5 million from Mint Capital and Agathos Educacional. In 2019, a second round raised R$ 16 million, and in early 2021, a third brought in R$ 50 million.
Today, Bahema holds 78% of Escola Mais; the founders retain 10% with an option to repurchase another 15% in 2025. The remaining shares go to an employee incentive plan. The group aims for profitability by 2022, and positive EBITDA within the current year. In the first three quarters of 2020, Bahema Educação recorded R$ 142.5 million in net revenue but a R$ 28 million net loss.
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