ApplyBoard, the premier worldwide student mobility platform, recently secured a $100 million financing facility to extend its operations into non-English-speaking countries. RBCx, Canada’s largest bank’s technology investment arm, provided the credit facility in early 2024. This facility allows a business to take money out over time rather than reapplying every time it requires capital.
ApplyBoard was founded in 2015 by brothers Martin, Meti, and Massi Basiri; they have built partnerships with 1,500+ primary, secondary, and post-secondary educational institutions and work with 6,500+ recruitment partners to drive diversity on campuses across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. The company simplifies the study abroad search, application, and acceptance process by connecting international students, recruitment partners, and academic institutions on one platform. It has become the world’s largest online platform for international student recruitment, assisting more than 1 million students with their educational journeys.
Speaking about the latest move, Meti Basiri, Co-founder and CEO of ApplyBoard, said in a statement:
The international education landscape is rapidly evolving, as we expect student mobility to double in the coming years, further validating the potential international students unlock for communities, economies, and cultures around the world. With support from RBCx, we can enable our investment in technology and increase market expansion opportunities to bring more innovative products and offerings to students and partner institutions.
The team has increased over the past eight years, and it has now 1,200+ team members across the globe. Its headquarters is located in downtown Kitchener, ON, with representatives in more than 30 other countries, including India, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States. ApplyBoard, the most popular company in the region’s tech sector, has raised hundreds of millions in venture capital funding and reached unicorn status during the pandemic, raising $374 million in 2021 and being valued at $4 billion.
With this funding, the company plans to add universities and colleges in non-English-speaking countries to its platform. The move comes after Ottawa greatly reduced the number of study permits for international students.
As Ottawa reduced the number of international students it allowed into Canada, ApplyBoard started looking for post-secondary schools in non-English-speaking countries that still welcome foreign students. It has signed up some universities in Germany as part of a test run in that country and plans to add another ten countries next year.
