Eduvanz, a Mumbai Based Startup Makes Educational Loans Easier
What often constrains students, learners, and parents, considering the availability of learning resources at all levels today, is the lack of simple, quick, and inexpensive financial assistance. Eduvanz, based in Mumbai, was founded in September 2016 by Varun Chopra, Raheel Shah and Atul Sashittal. Eduvanz offers loans to individuals at any institute either recognized or in association with the organization to follow either vocational degree or skill acquisition path. For more than 80 institutions, it has tie-ups. Eduvanz now plans to provide loan packages focused on supporting the financial conditions for K-12 (Kindergarten to 12th grade) classes, online knowledge learning courses and technical courses.
With their very strong Moto that states “We’re democratizing access to quality education. Over the last few years, we have touched the lives of thousands of students from hundreds of institutes across India by helping them get low-cost & flexible education finance.” Eduvanz are trying to bring positive changes in the Education sector of India
For all learning criteria, be it K-12 (school), higher education, or career development courses, Eduvanz provides flexible tenures, accelerated turnaround time, and maximum accountability on loan decisions. Around 2015-16, when they discovered a problem, Varun and Raheel set up their first start-up, CurrEQlum, to impart life skills in classrooms across India using sports, props, and analytics, when they noticed a problem: Most parents are overwhelmed with pending school and tuition fees and often postpone these payments due to the lack of convenient, fast, and affordable financial assistance.
In families trying to enroll their children in new programs such as job-oriented vocational training programmes, as well as coaching and exam prep classes, the dilemma is more serious, said the founder Varun. It does not help that banks are based on bigger ticket loans aligned with higher education, he added.
Moreover, their standardized requirements for lending tend to marginalize first-time borrowers and cash-earning families and do not consider thousands of online educational institutes and new-age institutions throughout India. In such cases, banks either decrease loan applications or charge very high interest rates, resulting in discontinued schooling, underutilized facilities, and missed opportunities. The issue is magnified across Tier I-III cities.
“We realized the need to create a complete new lending entity on the basis of our research, one that gets all stakeholders (parents, students, institutes, etc.) on the same platform and holds each stakeholder responsible for its role,” Varun says. The “strong network of parents, institutions, banks, schools, recruiters, and students” that Varun and Raheel had created for their previous venture was what came in handy. “We resolve loan decisions more quickly, supported by transparent processes and student-centered policies,” Varun says. In doing so, for each stakeholder, Eduvanz has innovated credit solutions. In addition to being co-founders, Varun is Eduvanz’s CEO and Raheel is the chief business officer in charge of alliances and partnerships. In addition to being co-founders, Varun is Eduvanz’s CEO and Raheel is the chief business officer in charge of alliances and partnerships. They both have more than 15 years of experience in the fields of investment management, consultancy and outsourcing, including duties and positions.
Developed for millennials
Eduvanz incorporates the technology network of an institute to give learners a smooth loan path. It provides loans customized to the needs of the environment of institute learners and allows upfront fee payments to the institute, based on the accepted loan commodity. “We offer zero-cost loan solutions for loan tenures of up to 24 months, which are very popular with parents and learners because it allows them to repay in simple and affordable EMIs (equal monthly instalments) without harming their liquidity,” says Raheel.
The start-up also provides flexibility in that the loan applications can be accessed anywhere, anywhere through the Eduvanz smartphone app or web interface, by learners and organization counselors/admission advisors. “Thus, we designed the loan journey that keeps in mind today’s millennium, a completely online, paperless, and fast journey,” says Raheel. On the Eduvanz mobile app, the loan application takes less than five minutes, while the whole process from application to disbursement takes place in only a few hours. Raheel adds that the startup has also invested in developing its own patented algorithms focused on artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to make loan decisions based on the potential employability of learners.
Network Extension
Eduvanz raised $2 million from Unitus Ventures and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in a pre-series A round in April 2019. It raised $5 million in August 2020 as part of a Series A round led by Sequoia India, with the participation of Unitus Ventures, an established investor. Edtech startup Klarity was purchased by the fintech platform in November, acquiring access to its network of business mentors and more than 300 educational institutions. Via one-on-one mentoring, Klarity has affected over 5,000 jobs,” says Varun.” “The team can not only help Eduvanz users fund their courses, but also get help in choosing the right course.” Eduvanz has seen a 15X rise in monthly usage numbers since its launch, according to Varun. The startup claims to have financially supported more than 15,000 students across 20 states, 240 cities, and represented more than 25 fields of expertise.
Varun says so far, the platform has collaborated with more than 350 organizations, including upGrad, Unacademy and Great Learning with Godrej, Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, ICICI Direct, McKinsey Social Initiative, SAP, and edtech tie-ups.
Setting New Targets
Eduvanz strives to become the target of funding options for learners in all categories: K-12, upskilling/skilling, undergraduate and postgraduate classes, as well as exam training by becoming an alternate lender, says Varun. The start-up is in the process of releasing its first student and learner credit card. “With access to affordable financial resources and impartial advice, the mission is to empower students to pursue the education of their decision and enable them to make informed decisions,” adds Varun.
