Education technology startup CollegeDekho on Friday announced acquisition of Delhi-based student company Scholarship Facilitation Services Pvt. Ltd. (SFS) for an undisclosed amount.
Through the acquisition, CollegeDekho aims to broaden its student-focused counseling services to help students discover and secure an education abroad, according to a company statement. This acquisition will also strengthen CollegeDekho’s reach to students who are looking to study in the US, Europe, and South East Asian countries.
CollegeDekho and SFS also aim to increase their test preparation and counseling centers to over 25 by 2020.
CollegeDekho’s study abroad business started operation in 2017 and has assisted students for admissions to educational institutions in countries like Canada, Philippines, Germany, Ukraine, and Russia.
“With this acquisition, we get the bandwidth for a much larger geographical coverage internationally. CollegeDekho’s technology will help in expanding the product portfolio, thus catering to a wider audience,” said Ruchir Arora chief executive of CollegeDekho in a statement.
Founded by Manik Kubba, Umesh Sharma and Vikaas Wahi, the gamut of services offered by SFS include need-based, budget-based and university-based admission counseling services, along with complete admission services to a university of their choice to international universities.
“The product value that the CollegeDekho-SFS acquisition brings to the table is massive. Admission to foreign universities, guaranteed scholarships, test preparation, assistance for top global university application, credit transfer programs – the product offerings that we provide is unique in the industry,” said Rajiv Singh, Co-Founder CollegeDekho in a statement.
“In the last few years, India has witnessed a rise in the cost of education in India, thus blurring the boundaries between domestic and foreign higher education. As these numbers grow, along with the aspirational value of a foreign degree, there is a need for an Ed-
Tech company that can bridge the divide between domestic and foreign higher education. Coming together with CollegeDekho provides SFS with the right technology platform & digital presence to scale up the operations pan India,” added Scholarship Facilitation Services chief executive Manik Kubba.
CollegeDekho has received a fund infusion of $8 million from its parent company Girnarsoft Education Services Pvt. Ltd and London-based Man Capital LLP in May. In April 2016, both the investors had led a $2 million pre-Series A round in CollegeDekho.
CollegeDekho provides information about courses from over 36,000 educational institutions. It also has tie-ups with 400 institutions to offer a common application form (CAF) feature, which can be used by students to apply to multiple colleges using a single form.
Source: Mint