Not everyone has the means to afford high-quality education for their children, whether it’s attending premier institutions in India or colleges abroad. The expenses involved are significant, and navigating the complexities of accessing education loans adds to the challenge for parents.
In recent times, several startups have emerged to address these issues. For example, GradRight focuses on making higher education abroad more accessible and affordable, while other notable names include Leap Finance and Propelled. Another startup entering this space is Invest4Edu.
Headquartered in Mumbai, Invest4Edu aims to alleviate common concerns surrounding the rising cost of education, college planning, and long-term financial commitments. We spoke with the company’s co-founder and CEO, Peeyush Agrawal, to gain insights into this “ed-fintech” startup, its operations, and more. Here are the edited highlights:
What are the key challenges in the industry that remain unaddressed, and how do you plan to tackle them?
Despite the proliferation of edtech and fintech companies, India still lacks comprehensive tech platforms offering holistic education financial solutions. Existing players provide only partial solutions, leaving a gap in the market for focused, unified solutions. Insufficient education goal-based planning results in inadequate funds for education, hindering a child’s potential. With smart AI-based tools, we aim to empower parents and students to plan and achieve their education goals effectively. Early planning, coupled with mandate-based savings and career-building services, will help manage education inflation and ensure quality education. Our array of education services assists students and parents in discovering ideal career paths in an evolving environment.
What are the key features of your platform?
Invest4Edu offers an AI-based education journey, serving as a digital toolkit for parents to craft career-centric education goals from nursery to university. The toolkit simplifies learning requirements, skill development, assessments, and counseling, providing precise expense details. Additionally, we offer a free planner for holistic education planning, while subscription plans include career counseling, skill-building, and financial investment guidance. Our College cost calculator, EduAbacus, facilitates informed decisions on future education costs. Through subscriptions or standalone services, our tech-driven platform streamlines education planning for parents and students.
How do you generate revenue?
Invest4Edu operates on an annuity-based revenue model with high customer retention. Revenue is generated from commissions on financial products such as mutual funds, fixed deposits, and insurance, along with fees from educational solutions and subscription plans.
What are your short-term and long-term goals for product and business expansion?
In the short term, we aim to spearhead transformative initiatives in education planning, prioritizing accessibility for a diverse student population of over 200,000 students. Our long-term goal is to create a user base of 1.5 million and empower 500,000 families. We plan to build a Mutual Fund AUM of $250 million and a monthly SIP book of $60 million. Additionally, we have expanded our core team to support the launch of our global business.
