CollegeDekho Raises USD 26.5 Million in Series B Funding

CollegeDekho has raised USD $26.5 million (approx INR 200 crores) in an ongoing (and oversubscribed) Series B funding round led by Winter Capital Partners, ETS Strategic Capital - the private equity investments arm of ETS (creator of the TOEFL® and GRE® tests), Calega and existing investors Man Capital and Rajeev Chaba. 

With this fundraise, CollegeDekho plans to further improve its offerings for both B2C and B2B customers (students and colleges respectively), venture into new verticals such as Ed-Fin-Tech & Student Accommodation, strengthen and invest in its product & technology, and expand internationally in the Study Abroad market.

India’s largest college admissions and education services platform - CollegeDekho aims to institutionalize higher-ed counselling while connecting prospective students with colleges using its proprietary Technology and AI-based conversation bot. CollegeDekho also owns India’s largest Common Application Form (CAF) platform which enables a student to apply to multiple colleges with a single click, making it a hassle-free process. 

In addition to that, the platform offers a full range of services from Profile Building, Test Preparation, to Application Assistance, University Selection, and Visa Assistance to students who wish to pursue their higher education Abroad.

The recently launched innovative offerings such as 0% EMI-based education financing and insurance products are a step towards enabling more and more students to get access to an education of their choice. Simultaneously, the CollegeDekho platform helps colleges by making their admissions more efficient and predictable.

The Managing Director at Winter Capital Advisors, Anton Farlenkov, says, “We are excited to be making a debut in India with an investment in CollegeDekho, one of the fastest-growing education service providers in India, with exceptional traffic, currently estimated at 15 million visits per month. India has about 52,000 colleges, of which around 66 percent are private educational institutions. According to recent research, India’s Ed-Tech industry is poised to reach $30 billion in size in the next 10 years, compared to the current market size of about $3 billion. We see this investment as promising and well-aligned with our strategy to expand our investment portfolio via dynamic, high-quality assets.” Winter Capital Partners (WCP) Investment Funds invest in fast-growing technology companies in domains and verticals such as education, healthcare, financial, and consumer services globally.

Ralph Taylor-Smith, Managing Director of ETS Strategic Capital said, “We continue to identify and invest in companies both domestically and internationally whose missions and long-term vision align with that of ETS. We’re pleased to further expand the ETS portfolio with this investment in service of the organization and focus on making equitable education available to all learners at all stages, globally.” ETS Strategic Capital is the private equity investment and M&A execution arm for ETS that develops, administers, and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® tests and The Praxis Series® assessments in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. ETS Strategic Capital targets private equity investments that are typically in Series B, C, or later; acquisitions that are middle-market in scale; and growth partnerships that may involve joint ventures (JVs), channel-affiliate, or distribution agreements, Intellectual Property (IP) licensing & technology-transfer relationships.

Chairman of Man Capital, Mr. Mohamed Mansour, said “We are glad to have partnered with CollegeDekho’s founders since day one. We continue to believe in and support the company’s vision. CollegeDekho is at the forefront of a rapidly expanding and growing Ed-Tech market in India. In addition to the exponential growth in college admission and the wider India Ed-Tech 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.” Man Capital is the investment arm of the Mansour Group, a global, family-owned conglomerate with over 60,000 employees. It has a presence in more than 100 countries with total revenues exceeding $7.5 billion. Its businesses operate across a large range of sectors including banking, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare, education, machinery & equipment, real estate, media, oil & gas, technology, and transport and logistics.

According to Ruchir Arora, Founder & CEO – CollegeDekho, “CollegeDekho is at an exciting phase of growth in its mission to connect students and colleges across geographies. We welcome Winter Capital, ETS, and Calega to the CollegeDekho family and thank Man Capital & Rajeev Chaba for their continued trust in us. Their global experience and precious insights in Ed-Tech shall be invaluable in our growth journey.  The tremendous response we are seeing from students, parents, and colleges continues to energize us to build world-class products and services for them. All of this would not have been possible without the passion and commitment of the CollegeDekho family. With this fundraise, we plan to invest in making our products and services even more lovable for our students and colleges, as well as expand into new geographies and business verticals.”

This Series B funding round of CollegeDekho has been advised by IBIS Capital, a specialist investment and corporate finance advisory group focused on global media & education, and by Cilix Capital, an international investment banking firm that helps companies as well as institutional investors with fundraises and M&A. 

With this latest round of Series B funding, CollegeDekho’s total funds raised stand at USD 38.5 million.