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Vah Vah!, a vocational training platform offering makeup and beauty courses, has raised $1.85 million in a seed round led by Sequoia India’s Surge accelerator.

The Bengaluru-based company is one of the 23 early-stage startups to make it to Surge’s fifth cohort — its largest so far — that kicked off on June 30.

Vah Vah! offers live cohort-based courses, and aims to impart vocational skills that can translate into job opportunities for the youth or help them start their own businesses.

Co-founder Shailesh Daxini said in a statement, “The shortfall of vocational schools means that vocational training is often inaccessible or too costly for many – making it especially challenging for those who live outside of metropolitan areas looking to upskill themselves. With Vah Vah!, anyone with a mobile phone and an internet connection can now access quality vocational education.”

“We want to bring the best teachers to every corner of India, and raise the quality of education in overlooked sectors that have the potential to create the next 100 million jobs,” he added.

Founded in October 2020, Vah Vah!’s courses are designed for those looking to build a career or run their own entrepreneurial service business.

They undergo training in micro batches held by beauty industry professionals. Vah Vah! has courses in three languages, and has enrolled students from more than 250 cities in India. Almost 90 percent of its cohorts are made up of women.

At present, it offers courses in Makeup and Hair Styling, with plans to add more. Students are sent learning kits with all the material they need to take the course. 

Co-founder Eashwar Subbiah shared, “The beauty sector is expected to grow at 30 percent CAGR, and workforce requirements have doubled, according to the National Skill Development Council of India. The majority of our students enroll with the ambition to learn new skills to create earning opportunities for themselves. There is a real need in the market from both employees and employers for such services.”

Vah Vah!’s professional makeup course is a 22-day comprehensive training programme, and also includes career counselling and one-on-one Q&As with trainers.