Edtech Startup CollegeDekho Raises $2 Mn Funding From GirnarSoft, Others

Gurugram-based edtech startup CollegeDekho has raised $2 Mn in its third round of funding from GirnarSoft, London-based ManCapital, the investment arm of the Mansour Group, and others.

Reportedly, the startup will use the funding to strengthen its technology, to expand collaboration with international colleges and to increase marketing activities, including more offline campaigns.

Earlier, in April 2016, CollegeDekho also secured a $2 Mn funding round from ManCapital and in December 2015, a $1 Mn amount from GirnarSoft.

Nikhil Malik, Partner, ManCapital said in a media statement, “The education sector is poised for further growth and we believe there remains a lot of talent in the country that can benefit from improved support. CollegeDekho strives to identify students’ optimal education path so as to make a difference in the future.”

Founded by Ruchir Arora, Saurabh Jain, Rohit Saha, and Rajiv Singh, CollegeDekho provides a transparent and open platform that facilitates interaction between students and colleges. The startup helps students discover the right career choices.

CollegeDekho’s unique features include step-by-step college search – this suggests colleges based on simple student inputs, and, ‘my future buddies’ – a platform that connects all prospective students of a college, even before they join the college.

Besides, the startup also provides information on a variety of entrance exams and determines cutoffs for their desired courses.

Reportedly, the startup has 36K colleges in its database and has on-ground cafes in Patna, Ranchi, Lucknow, Guwahati and Srinagar.

A report by Google and KPMG pegs the Indian edtech space to grow from $ 0.25 Bn to $1.96 Bn and online education to witness 8x growth over the next five years.

With over 50% Indian population projected to be falling in the youth category, the startups like CollegeDekho are trying to fill in the much-needed information gap.

As the investors continue to participate in startup’s later funding rounds, this clearly indicates their confidence in its business model. Thus, the recent funding boost will certainly add an impetus to the journey ahead for CollegeDekho.

[The development was reported by ET.]