CollegeDekho, India’s most prominent college guidance, enrolment and learning marketplace with over 225 million sessions on its platforms, has announced the acquisition of Jaipur-based firm ImaginXP. This acquisition follows two others made by CollegeDekho to strengthen its “CollegeDekho Assured” services via curriculum and material delivery to colleges. These acquisitions enabled CollegeDekho to offer skill-based, job-oriented learning modules as part of university-offered Engineering and Management degrees under its “CollegeDekho Assured” business.
According to the statement, with the acquisition of ImaginXP, they can now provide a comprehensive package of enrollment, curriculum, content delivery, and career services to institutions and students enrolled in Technology, Design, and Management programmes. This deal enables CollegeDekho to broaden its range of services throughout the Higher Education continuum to universities and colleges across India. It reinforces its commitment to colleges and students to provide the most comprehensive options to help them succeed. It also strengthens CollegeDekho’s commitment towards democratizing high-quality education for India’s students by providing content, high-quality teaching and career-building services on top of free career counselling and college enrolment services since 2017.
With over 54,000 universities and colleges in India, it shall also help Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) bridge the gap between academia and industry and offer Degrees with future skills. This shall help HEIs to differentiate as they provide better skills and employability to students and meet the vision of the National Education Policy 2020.
Speaking on the deal, Ruchir Arora, CEO and Co-founder of CollegeDekho said:
We’re extremely passionate about democratizing access to higher education that changes lives. We generate over 225 million sessions annually across our platforms, while over 4.8 million students reach out for counselling & guidance. We welcome ImaginXP to the CollegeDekho family to help us strengthen our offerings to our students. This is our third acquisition in future skills development for students and will help us expand our range of services to India’s student community & HEIs. By incorporating ImaginXP’s industry-oriented curriculum, corporate mentors and a passionate team, we are confident of enabling India’s vast majority of students to thrive in today’s competitive job market.
With nearly 45% of India’s graduates cited as unemployable, the future skills imparted under the “CollegeDekho Assured” initiative shall help bridge the employability gap for India’s graduates while equipping them with the skills they need through an industry-academia partnership.
With a current revenue run rate of Rs. 300 Crore for FY 2023 and growing 4X over three years, CollegeDekho has continuously demonstrated its leadership in the higher education landscape of India. With a low Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of just 27.3% in Higher Education in India, CollegeDekho has played a significant role in providing guidance and counselling to over 250,000 students and helping nearly 80,000 students reach college in 2023. This acquisition furthers CollegeDekho’s roadmap for expanding its services to colleges and students on top of its massive distribution across India.
CollegeDekho, founded in 2017 by Ruchir Arora, Saurabh Jain, and Rohit Saha, leverages proprietary technology and AI-based chatbots to link millions of prospective students with colleges. Its ground-breaking Common Application Form (CAF) technology streamlines applications to many colleges with a single click, making it the largest in India. The organization continues to influence higher education, having counselled over 85 lakh students and assisted over 1500 colleges with student recruitment. The company’s strong dedication to excellence is supported by prestigious investors such as Winter Capital, ETS Strategic Capital, Calega, Man Capital, Disrupt ADQ, and QIC.
Shashank Shwet, Founder & CEO of ImaginXP, commented:
We are driven by a relentless vision to revolutionize the future of education. Partnering with CollegeDekho enables us to amplify our impact, reaching a broader audience and empowering countless students with industry-relevant skills and job-oriented higher education.
ImaginXP’s portfolio includes partnerships with over 30 prestigious universities and institutes. Their industry-led curriculum, seamlessly integrated into Degree programs, imparts practical learning that equips students to be job-ready. Its team will now merge with CollegeDekho to drive the growth of the “CollegeDekho Assured” vertical.
This investment highlights CollegeDekho’s unwavering dedication to democratizing higher education in India while equipping students with the tools they need to succeed in their jobs. The amalgamation of strengths is a significant step forward in CollegeDekho’s journey to provide a genuinely impactful educational ecosystem that drives the democratization of Higher Education, transforming lives and communities across India and contributing to the Indian Government’s vision of reaching 50% GER in Higher Education by 2035.
ImaginXP is a distinguished Higher-Ed organization in India, known for its range of future-skills Degree, Certification, and Executive courses, founded in 2013 by visionary leaders Shashank Shwet (Founder & CEO), Shishir Kumar (Director-General), Chinmoy Rajwanshi (Co-Founder), and Abhayjeet Singh (Co-Founder & CAO). The startup aims to guide India’s growth through the transformative power of future skills education.
