The ErudiFi team
Updates: This article has been updated with more details on the platform as communicated by co-founder Naga Tan
ErudiFi, a startup that provides access to affordable education financing in Southeast Asia, has raised US$5 million in Series B capital, co-led by Monk’s Hill Ventures and Qualgro.
The Indonesia-based startup will use the capital to make key hires across product and engineering, marketing and operations, business development, and data functions.
The company also has plans to scale its services, deepen its footprint in its existing markets (Indonesia and the Philippines), and accelerate product innovation.
Founded in 2017, ErudiFi is a tech-enabled platform that helps financially underserved students get access to quality education centres with its “Study Now, Pay Later model”.
What makes ErudiFi different from other similar players in the market is its B2B2C approach, unlike other platforms that have a sole focus either on B2B or B2C.
ErudiFi operates in the name of Danacita in Indonesia and Bukas in the Philippines.
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Aside from not being able to enroll in higher learning, student retention is also a challenge in Southeast Asia. Many schools experience a 10-15 per cent dropout rate annually, largely due to financial difficulties faced by families.
To address these challenges, ErudiFi has launched a service that provides partner schools with a way to track disbursements and provide real-time analytics for dropped students.
So far, the startup claims to have onboarded over 50 leading universities and vocational schools in Indonesia and the Philippines, including President University, UNTAR, IT PLN, Wall Street English, PHINMA Education, Far Eastern University, Adamson University, and Mapua University.
“Access to affordable tertiary education remains a huge pain point in Southeast Asia where the cost is nearly double than the average GDP per capita. ErudiFi is tackling an underserved market that is plagued with high-interest rates by traditional financial institutions and limited reach from peer-to-peer lending companies,” said Peng T. Ong, co-founder and Managing Partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures.
“By taking a first-principles approach, Naga and his team have been laser-focused on bringing a tech-enabled and data-driven solution that provides students with access to education,” Ong added.
On being asked how the pandemic has affected the startup, co-founder Naga Tan told e27 that the pandemic has only widened the inequality across different income segments, as those with limited household income/savings drop out of school altogether.
“Many of our current school partners have seen a corresponding drop in enrollment rates and an increase in student attrition as a result. This means that our financing solution is even more critical in this environment in providing support to schools and ensuring their continued viability,” he said.
According to HolonIQ, edutech is a growing sector in Southeast Asia and the region has managed to raise a total of US$480 million in investment for startups operating in this sector over the last 5 years.
In Southeast Asia, there are many edutech startups such as Topica (Vietnam), Taamkru (Thailand), Ruangguru (Indonesia), and Classruum (Malaysia) that are helping plug the educational gap by increasing the quality or access to education.
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Image Credit: ErudiFi
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