Leap Finance, an Indian edutech platform focused on overseas education, has raised US$17 million in Series B funding, led by Jungle Ventures.
Sequoia Capital India and Owl Ventures also participated in the round.
As per a press note, the fresh funds will go towards expanding its product offerings and strengthen technology and business teams to aid geographical expansion.
Leap Finance will also look to establish global offices in undisclosed locations for partnerships with overseas educational institutions.
Initially launched in 2019 as an education loan platform for students pursuing further education in the US, Leap Finance has since expanded to provide assistance on the complex admission processes for overseas education and now covers Canada, the UK and Australia.
Essentially, it creates modern financial products and services that help Indian students pursue a global career by helping Indian students in choosing the right university and the best financing option as well as lining up job interviews and introductions.
“We are a one-stop solution for all the needs of prospective international students. India has the largest group of English-language graduates and STEM education, and millions of graduates from that group want degrees from international campuses as well as global careers,” said Arnav Kumar, Co-founder of Leap Finance.
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He further explained these admission processes require accurate information and guidance from experts. “Our online community helps students evaluate career options, network with seniors and select the best courses. We then use this data to offer personalised exam preparation, professional counselling services, visa guides and financial products.”
Leap Finance claims it has over 500,000 members and alumni with 200,000 monthly active users exchanging 9 million chat messages last month.
“Leap Finance marks our first investment in edutech. India is the second-largest market globally for overseas education. In the past decade, the number of applicants for higher education studies abroad from India has increased annually by more than 300 per cent,” noted Amit Anand, Founding Partner of Jungle Ventures.
“2020 was the most difficult year for international education due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19. We are impressed by the resilience of the Leap team over the past year, as they have not only served hundreds of students with their financing solutions but have also innovated with the Leap Scholar service which provides counselling to thousands of Indian students who wish to study abroad,” opined Ashish Agrawal, Principal of Sequoia India.
The company has previously raised US$5.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India.
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Image Credit: Leap
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