Edovo, a Chicago startup that provides tablet-based education to inmates in hopes of reducing recidivism, just landed some funding from Twilio.
Twilio, a publicly traded San Francisco-based cloud communications platform, has invested $250,000 in Edovo through its Impact Fund, which invests in social enterprises that use communication in innovative ways.
Additionally, Twilio announced it has awarded grants to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), MindRight, and Caravan Studios.
Edovo launched in 2013 and gives educational tools to incarcerated people via tablets that help them learn vocational skills, academics, life skills training and more. Along with educational resources, Edovo also acts as a communication tool between inmates and their loved ones. The goal is to help inmates find jobs after their sentence, and keep them from returning to prison in the future.
Today, Edovo works with more than 50 correctional facilities in 20 states. The startup raised $2.25 million in 2016, and its investors include Kapor Capital and Chicago-based Impact Engine.
“Since launching the Twilio.org Impact Fund in 2017, we have had the opportunity to meet many nonprofits and social enterprises who are doing incredible work with the help of communications,” Erika Balbuena, head of the Twilio.org Impact Fund, said in a statement. “Whether it’s a text message between an inmate and his daughter, a call that reminds a refugee of their citizenship appointment or a conversation between a counselor and a struggling teenager, the right communication at the right time can be life changing."
