CollegeDekho raises further $8.5 million

Earlier in the year, the India-based college admissions and higher education services platform revealed it had raised $26.5m with backing from Winter Capital Partners, ETS Strategic Capital, Calega and existing investors Man Capital and Rajeev Chaba.

The new funding brings in new investors Disrupt ADQ and QIC.

The company reiterated that the funds will be used to further improve its offerings for students and colleges both within India and abroad, grow new verticals in ed-fin-tech, student accommodation and coaching for higher education and for acquisitions and consolidation that “make strategic sense”.

Additionally, it said it will considering expanding its study abroad services in global markets.

“We believe that our sound business model, innovative products, our commitment to excellence in service delivery, and growing student base continue to help us win the trust of investors who have global exposure and experience in higher edtech,” said Ruchir Arora, CollegeDekho founder & CEO.

“Their participation in our growth story is a testimony that we are delivering on our mission of transforming the higher education journey of students.”

CollegeDekho will be expanding its team and platforms to “serve a larger number of students and colleges”, he added.

“We will also consider expanding our presence abroad”

“Even as we double down on our efforts to increase our reach in the Indian market, we will also consider expanding our presence abroad.”

Managing director at Winter Capital Advisors, Anton Farlenkov, added that welcoming ADQ and QIC along with ETS Strategic Capital as co-investor “further strengthens the prospects of success for CollegeDekho”.

The value of edtech investment is poised to grow from $2.5 billion to $10bn in size in the next 5-10 years, he added.

“We see our investment in CollegeDekho as promising and well aligned with our strategy to expand our investment portfolio via dynamic, high-quality assets,” Farlenkov concluded.