Overseas education platform Leap, which runs www.leapfinance.com and www.leapscholar.com, has raised a $17 million (RS. 120 crores) Series B in a new round of equity financing. The round was led by Singapore-based Jungle Ventures, with participation from Sequoia Capital India and Owl Ventures.

Founded in 2019, San Francisco headquartered Leap is an online platform that offers end-to-end services like counselling services, visa services, education loans and other financial products for students pursuing international education & careers. Leap has since expanded the product suite and also expanded to Canada, UK and Australia.

Amit Anand, Founding Partner, Jungle Ventures said, “Leap marks our first investment in the ed-tech space. India is the second-largest market globally for overseas enrolment, and in just a decade overseas higher education annual enrolments from India are up more than 300 percent. In addition, South East Asian markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia are also large contributors to overseas education.

This presents a huge opportunity in an otherwise fragmented landscape. Leap is addressing this huge opportunity through its end-to-end tech platform and a community-first approach. We are proud to partner with Vaibhav and Arnav in their growth journey as they become the default destination for outbound students pursuing international education.”

This raise comes in less than a year after Leap raised $5.5 million led by Sequoia Capital India, taking the total capital raised by the startup to $22.5 million. Leap plans to use the new capital to expand its product portfolio and further strengthen its team across technology & business functions, expand geographically and grow its student communities. The company plans to establish global offices for institutional partnerships and other business functions.

Arnav Kumar, co-founder of Leap said, “India has the largest pool of STEM educated English speaking graduates and millions of them want global degrees and careers. This is a big decision and there is a real need for accurate information and expert guidance. Our online community helps students evaluate career options, network with seniors and shortlist the best courses. We then use this data to offer personalised test prep, professional counselling services, visa guidance and financial products.”

Arnav Kumar, co-founder of Leap said, “India has the largest pool of STEM educated English speaking graduates and millions of them want global degrees and careers. This is a big decision and there is a real need for accurate information and expert guidance. Our online community helps students evaluate career options, network with seniors and shortlist the best courses. We then use this data to offer personalised test prep, professional counselling services, visa guidance and financial products.”

Leap claims to have helped over 20,000 students in the past year and aims to serve 150,000 students in the current year.

First Published:Mar 16, 2021 4:53 PM IST