Erasmus Play, a student housing search engine to find accommodation across Europe, has recently raised €200,000 in a funding round led by Didi Value Partners.
The round was also backed by investors such as Daniel Giménez (co-founder of Trovit, Niumba, among others), Gerard Olivé (Wallapop, Glovo, Prontopiso, etc.), Marc Bigas (Skitude), Enrique Domínguez (Trovit and Parkingdoor) and other Business Angels. Toubkal Partners, an investment fund for technology companies in Spain, has also participated in this round.
With this investment, Zaragoza-based company plans to improve the technology of the platform in order to optimize user experience, it will furthermore strengthen relationships with accommodation providers, which are very diversified geographically. The fresh funding makes it possible to bolster the position of Erasmus Play in European countries such as Spain, Italy, France and Germany, alongside increasing the verified accommodation offer in more than 500 cities in which the housing search engine currently has a presence.
Founded in 2020 by David Casanova Ronco (CEO), Manuel Herrero Gajón (CTO) and Smith Donkor (COO), Erasmus Play is the first student accommodation metasearch engine that works hand in hand with universities. With a simple click, students can compare thousands of accommodations (rooms, flats, residences, and co-living) from a multitude of online accommodation platforms. It helps students to easily compare among a wide offer of student housing and choose the most suitable accommodation, enabling students to focus on essential tasks, such as being close to their study centres and their classmates or having the necessary facilities to live and be able to study.
Erasmus Play goal is to guide students in their new environment and help them find the most suitable accommodation. It works closely with universities to improve on a daily basis and offers the best experience to students.
The company started as a response from a former Erasmus+ group of students who encountered difficulties in finding accommodation in different host cities. Eventually, in one case, being forced to reject the scholarship.
Speaking about the company and its mission, Co-founder and COO of Erasmus Play, Smith Donkor, said:
“I didn’t have the opportunity to go to Paris on Erasmus because there was no affordable accommodation I could find and almost felt for a fraudulent housing ad. Our mission is to take this obstacle off the plate of international students.”
