Kids-UP Launches Crowdfunding for Free Children's English App Rashinba
Kids-UP is testing whether crowdfunding can fund a permanent free tier for a children's English app, with the campaign running less than two months before the scheduled December release.
Reporting from 1 source: ASCII.jp.
Kids-UP, an English conversation school with 39 locations and 20,000 cumulative members, opened a CAMPFIRE crowdfunding campaign on October 15 to fund Rashinba, a completely free children's English learning app. The project targets 500,000 yen through November 30, with release scheduled for December 2026. The app lets children simulate jobs at a bakery, airport, and candy factory, with no ads or in-app purchases.
The campaign runs on CAMPFIRE until November 30 at 23:59, using the All-in method, with a target of 500,000 yen. Support starts at 500 yen. First-come rewards include having a supporter's name engraved on an in-app monument, plus avatar clothing and in-app badges. Kids-UP designs the work-experience missions itself, drawing on its early childhood English instruction experience. An AI hint feature and a support character assist learning in Japanese. Shops appear on a map and rotate daily, so the selection changes each time the app is opened.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.