Leverage EdTech Private Limited, a New Delhi-based higher education counselling platform, has raised $22 million (Rs 167 crore) in a Series B round of capital from a group of funds, family offices, and HNI (high networth individual) investors, in addition to previous investors.
NB Ventures and 9Unicorns, both based in the United Arab Emirates, were among the new investors. Chona Group (behind Havmor ice cream brand), FMCG player Vicco, Mankind Pharma, and few other family offices have also decided to join the round.
Existing investors such as Blume Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners, and Tomorrow Capital were also involved in this acquisition. The company is claimed to have been valued at $120 million as a result of the deal.
“We have grown over 12x in revenue between February 2021 & 2022, and are at a $20 million annualised revenue crossed milestone now. The team has done this while cutting CAC by crazy 2/3rds – thanks to over 20% of our business now coming from referrals,” stated the startup’s founder and CEO Akshay Chaturvedi.
Chaturvedi went on to say that a variety of sleek product-channels like virtual fair platform UniConnect, IELTS-prep software Leverage Live, and the uber-popular AI Course Finder account for 35% of sales.
Posted by Next Big Brand on Monday, March 21, 2022
Leverage Edu, founded by Chaturvedi in 2017, offers full-stack services to students interested in foreign education and professions. Last month, it also released the ‘Study Abroad with LeverageEdu’ app, which has already had over 50,000 downloads.
“We have been looking at various companies in the overseas student mobility space and are happy to have partnered with LeverageEdu, a company with the right product positioning, traction & stage to work together with on the growth journey,” said Kaizen Private Equity’s Gaurav Jain
Early this year, Leverage Edu announced its move into financial services. It is currently waiting for an FFMC licence from the RBI, which will help it expand its foreign remittance business even more. While the company does not make loans on its own balance sheet, it has been rapidly expanding, with the intention of attaining a loan book of Rs 500 crore in the near future.
The company raised an undisclosed amount of growth money from Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Oyo India and Southeast Asia CEO Rohit Kapoor, and others in September last year.
The firm raised $6.5 million in a Series A fundraising round headed by Tomorrow Capital in early 2021, with previous investors Blume Ventures and DSG Consumer Partners joining aboard.
According to Research and Markets, the global education technology industry is undergoing a digital transformation, with up to 130 percent growth predicted by 2027, benefiting people of all socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds.
As per a BLinC Investment Management analysis, India’s edtech sector is predicted to develop at a CAGR of over 15% from $2.8 billion in 2020 to $30 billion in 2030, making it the world’s most active edtech market.
