MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Study-abroad Firm Leverage Edu Facilitating Student Access to Finance, Banking Services, Cross-border Remittances

Leverage Edu, which offers platforms for students in India looking to study in other countries, recently launched Leverage Finance, a unit facilitating loans to pay for tuition, cross-border remittances, and remote opening of bank accounts in countries to which students will travel for their education. During the pilot phase of the service, Leverage Finance customers accessed loans totaling INR 750 million (USD 10 million) and opened approximately 500 accounts at banks in Canada and the UK. Going forward, the firm plans to: (1) increase its number of finance employees from 30 to 90 or more by March 2022; and (2) facilitate loans worth a total of INR 10 billion (USD 134 million) by July 2022.

Akshay Chaturvedi, the Founder and CEO of Leverage Edu, reportedly said the “topmost focus area for us is remittances right now. It has a great product-market fit with the student journey, plugs in beautifully with our app, and has grown a full 100 percent month-on-month ever since its pilot three months back.” The firm is in talks with the Reserve Bank of India as part of attaining a “full fledged money changer” license to allow it to perform foreign exchange transactions.

Leverage Edu, based in the city of New Delhi, reports 350 university partners and 28 million users. It provides services such as admission guidance, scholarships and financial services. It does this via websites including UniValley, in addition to the Leverage Edu and Leverage Finance websites.

By Sheen Gupta, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Free Press Journal article
https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/leverage-launches-remittances-education-loans-international-bank-accounts

Leverage Edu homepage
https://leverageedu.com/

Leverage Finance homepage
https://leveragefinance.co/

Apple App Store listing of Leverage Edu app
https://apps.apple.com/in/app/leverage-edu/id1590845967

Google Play listing of Leverage Edu app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.leverageedu.leverageedu

UniValley homepage
https://univalley.com/

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