CollegeDekho rides on ed-tech boom to take education counselling online

CollegeDekho and the entire sector have a lot going in their favour, but future will depend on how they adapt to the latest technological advancements

In India, you don’t find engineers only on IT desks, construction sites and factories but also in other fields. And, lack of opportunities in the field is not the only reason. 

“In smaller towns, you don’t get proper guidance and after Class XII, you end up taking the same two-three streams based on what your parents and friends tell you, not realising what you really want,” says Gireesh, who left his IT job in 2016 to run a restaurant in Delhi.

However, things are now changing with rising internet penetration and mushrooming of educational websites. While many start-ups have long been working in this field, investors have only recently started pouring money into the ed-tech sector. Many such start-ups have raised money in recent months, with career guidance platform CollegeDekho being the latest. 

The ed-tech start-up had last week raised $8 million in Series B round, led by its parent company GirnarSoft Education and London-based private equity investor Man Capital, which also participated in the start-up’s Series A round last year. 

Byju’s, Pesto, Classplus, iChamp, Leverage Edu and eShiksa are other start-ups in the broader ed-tech sector to raise money in the past few months.

Product concept and revenue model

CollegeDekho is basically an online consultancy platform which helps students connect with prospective colleges. The Gurugram-based start-up, through its website and Android app, aims to help students make informed decisions with respect to both the college and the course.

While all the college and exam-related information on the portal and consultancy services are free, the start-up makes money when a student takes admission in any of its partner colleges through the platform. According to the company, it has such partnerships with over 500 colleges. Digital Media Services is another source of revenue for the firm.

The firm also has an on-ground presence in some cities.

CollegeDekho founders Rajiv Singh, Ruchir Arora, Rohit Saha and Saurabh Jain

Co-founder and CEO Ruchir Arora says the start-up has delivered in excess of 12,000 admissions worth over Rs 900 crore, since he started it in 2016 along with Saurabh Jain, Rohit Saha, and Rajiv Singh. Though Arora did not disclose the revenue figures, he said the company has seen a 100 per cent growth trajectory in the last three years.

On the latest investment, Arora says some external investors had also shown interest in the firm, but after a round of discussions, they decided to limit the funding round to existing investors.

Opportunity

Growing income, rising literacy, mushrooming colleges and growth in internet penetration are some of the factors that are in presently in favour of the sector.

With approximately 29 per cent of India’s population in the age bracket of 5-24 years, a study by IBEF estimated the education sector at $91 billion in FY18. The same report expects the higher education segment to rise to $35 billion by 2025.

Arora lists other data that he feels is a testimony to the bright future of the sector. “India has become the second largest market for e-learning after the US. The sector is expected to reach $1.96 billion by 2021 with around 9.5 million users,” he says.

Challenges and the road ahead

While the overall education sector is poised to witness unprecedented growth in the coming years, it’s the online tutorial platforms that have seen the maximum traction, as evident from the number of start-ups that have frequently raised fundings.

Experts say the current model of education consultants is fragmented and underserved from a technology perspective. Thus, the future of these start-ups, like for most tech-based firms, will depend on how they leverage technological advancements. 

CollegeDekho is mostly dependent on commission for revenues. This implies that the start-up makes money only when a student takes admission in a private college via the platform. Given the 150,000+ daily visitors (as claimed by the company) on the website, if the start-up succeeds in monetising every visit, it will add a lot to its revenue numbers.

Factbox

Founded: 2016

Area of biz:  Ed-tech company 

Funding: $8 million in Series B 

Investors: GirnarSoft Education and Man Capital

Partnership: 500 colleges

A lot of competitors in this space

Arun Jagannathan, Co-founder and CEO of CrackVerbal

CollegeDekho is an interesting space where the business model works with both students and colleges. It helps students find all the information about colleges on a single common platform rather than having to open multiple tabs and searching numerous websites. It also solves the problem of colleges which are struggling to bring down the cost of customer acquisition by providing them with qualified leads who are interested in the courses they offer. 

There are a couple of things that CollegeDekho could do. 

First, it could leverage technology better to improve the user experience and profile the students better. Second, it could use AI to provide more customised results based on the preferences provided by students and make the whole process of college discovery relatively streamlined. 

Currently, there are a lot of competitors in this space which have already been in the market for a while. Building a brand and winning the trust of the users will be the biggest challenge CollegeDekho would face in their journey ahead.