A free platform for understandable and accessible mathematics for school students, teachers, and parents is launching in pilot mode. The product was developed based on research into learning losses in Ukraine.
Ukrainian online education studio EdEra has launched a pilot of the BigMat learning platform with support from Tokarev Foundation, founded by Serhiy Tokarev. It is a free digital product that explains complex mathematical topics in a simple way — through interactive tasks, real-life examples, and practice. The platform is designed for three audiences at once: students, teachers, and parents.
Why Ukraine Needs a New Approach to Mathematics
According to the results of the 2025 National Multi-Subject Test, 12% of graduates did not pass the mathematics threshold — failing tasks at the level of grades 5–6. That is every eighth student. To understand the reasons, EdEra and Tokarev Foundation conducted a comprehensive study of learning losses and found that knowledge gaps are formed mainly in middle school, not at later stages of education.
Separately, the EdEra team analyzed the phenomenon of math anxiety — a condition in which fear of the subject blocks the learning process itself. The combination of these two diagnoses — structural knowledge gaps and a psychological barrier — became the basis for the product solution.
A Systemic View: Why This Is an Economic Issue, Not Only an Educational One
Serhiy Tokarev, founder of Tokarev Foundation and an impact investor, commented on the launch of BigMat, noting that the shortage of mathematical competencies affects not only school performance, but also the prospects of an entire generation of Ukrainian professionals:
“Mathematical literacy today is a basic condition for access to the tech economy. To AI, engineering, and product development. If we do not close this gap systemically, we lose not the performance of individual students, but the competitiveness of the next generation of professionals.”
How the Platform Works
BigMat combines three components:
- The first is an app with interactive levels for students’ independent work.
- The second is ready-to-use teaching materials for educators: lesson plans and presentations that reduce preparation time.
- The third is guidance for parents, helping them support a child at home without a tutor.
The product explains abstract topics through links to everyday life — from calculating expenses to making daily decisions. The platform’s goal is not only to strengthen basic knowledge, but also to reduce the gap between students who master the subject easily and those for whom mathematics remains a barrier.
“Together with Tokarev Foundation, we have gone a long way — from a comprehensive study of learning losses to the creation of a practical solution that will help overcome gaps in mathematical knowledge intensified by the pandemic and the war. The result is a learning platform for children, teachers, and parents that helps users master complex topics simply, clearly, and through a connection with real life. BigMat is currently at the MVP stage, but it already has strong practical value: we are launching the pilot to test the solution together with students, educators, and parents, improve it, and, in the future, turn it into an effective tool for supporting mathematics education in Ukraine,” comments Illia Filipov, CEO of EdEra.
What Has Been Done at the Start of the Pilot
At the first stage, the team developed materials for eight topics focused on fractions, created eight interactive levels in the app, and prepared eight school lessons. More than 500 mathematics teachers applied to participate in the pilot; currently, 60 educators are testing the platform in schools together with their classes.
The Second Wave Is Planned for Autumn
The EdEra team plans the second stage of the pilot for autumn. It will incorporate feedback from teachers and students from the first wave, and interactive lessons on new topics will be added. A separate area of work is the preparation of guidance for parents that will help improve a child’s mathematics results at home without involving tutors.
Reference
EdEra is a Ukrainian online education studio that has been creating educational products for more than 10 years, including online courses, learning platforms, interactive games, and textbooks. The company includes an R&D unit, the communications agency EdComms, and its own ederaLMS platform. EdEra has developed around 200 educational products for the public, business, and civil society sectors; its platform audience exceeds 2 million users. An EdEra course became the first Ukrainian course adapted into 14 languages on Coursera, while the campaign for its course on switching to Ukrainian received bronze at the Effie Awards 2024.
Tokarev Foundation is a technology-driven philanthropy organization working to develop a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable Ukraine through technology and innovation. The foundation implements projects in EdTech and HealthTech. Its founder is Serhiy Tokarev, a Ukrainian impact investor, tech entrepreneur, founder of SET University, and the driving force behind AI HOUSE.
