[Funding alert] CollegeDekho closes Series B round at $35M

Gurugram-based college admissions and higher education services platform CollegeDekho on Wednesday announced that it has closed its Series B funding with Disrupt ADQ and QIC coming on board recently.

The $35 million (Rs 260 crore) round has been led by Winter Capital, ETS Strategic Capital - the private equity investments arm of ETS (creator of the TOEFL® tests and GRE® General Test), Calega and existing investor Man Capital. 

CollegeDekho said it is planning to use the funds to further improve its offerings for students and colleges both within India and abroad. The company will increase its investment in products and technology while growing new verticals like Ed-Fin-Tech, student accommodation and coaching for higher education. It is also considering expanding its study abroad services in global markets. The company will also use the funds raised for acquisitions and consolidation that make strategic sense.

Ruchir Arora, Founder and CEO, CollegeDekho, said, 

“Following the fruitful completion of Series B funding, we will be expanding our team, and platforms to serve a larger number of students and colleges. We will also increase our investment in products and technologies, while fuelling our growth in our new verticals such as education loans, student accommodation and coaching for higher ed. Even as we double down on our efforts to increase our reach in the Indian market, we will also consider expanding our presence abroad.”

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Founded in 2015, CollegeDekho is on a mission to institutionalise students’ counselling in India. It connects prospective students with colleges using its proprietary technology and AI-based conversation bot. Its Common Application Form platform enables students to apply to multiple colleges with a single click. For Study Abroad students, CollegeDekho offers a full range of services from Profile Building, Test Preparation, to Application Assistance, University Selection and Visa Assistance.

CollegeDekho has recently launched zero percent EMI based education financing and insurance products to enable more and more students to get access to an education of their choice. The platform helps colleges by making their admissions more efficient and predictable. The company plans to build services to help students with higher education coaching as well as student accommodation services.

Anton Farlenkov, Managing Director at Winter Capital Advisors, added,

“We are happy to welcome ADQ and QIC along with ETS Strategic Capital as our co-investor in CollegeDekho. We are convinced that partners as solid as these joining the pool of investors further strengthens the prospects of success for CollegeDekho and proves the value of investment in edtech, which is poised to reach $10 billion in size in the next 5-10 years, from about $2.5 billion today. We see our investment in CollegeDekho as promising and well aligned with our strategy to expand our investment portfolio via dynamic, high-quality assets.”

“We continue to identify and invest in companies both domestically and internationally whose missions and long-term vision align with that of ETS,” said Ralph Taylor-Smith, Managing Director of ETS Strategic Capital.

Mohamed Mansour, Chairman of Man Capital, commented, 

“CollegeDekho is at the forefront of a rapidly expanding and growing edtech market in India. In addition to the exponential growth in college admission and the wider India edtech market, we are also seeing a rise in integrated solutions for college students across the globe. We believe that CollegeDekho is very well positioned to expand its services and reach to become a leading global player over the coming years.” 

According to the company, the higher education market accounts for over 50 percent of the Indian education market. At $135 billion in FY20, it's larger than the K-12 market in value terms. With India's higher education Gross Enrollment Ratio targeted to grow to 50 percent in the next ten years along with the initiatives led by NEP, the higher education market is expected to grow at a fast pace over the coming years.