India’s premier student housing company, Your-Space has raised $10 million in Series A funding through a combination of pure equity and convertible debentures.
The funding round was led by the personal investment from Shantanu Rastogi (of General Atlantic) and Ajay Gupta’s (Capital Foods) family office AJAX Capital.
The round also witnessed participation from Holy Basil Consultancy Private Limited, Manish Choksi’s (Vice Chairman at Asian Paints) family office, Sunidhi Group’s family office, and Sanjaya Gupta (former MD & CEO of PNBHFL), amongst others.
According to a press statement, the company plans to utilize the fresh funds for growth focusing on metros and tier I cities. Your-Space will also be enhancing operating robustness through a scalable, modular technology platform, which will help augment user experience and assist in building a large student community. Human capital is at the heart of service delivery, part of the funds will also be used to further strengthen and retain the core team, which has recently seen additions like the CMO, Head of Community and Head – Legal and Compliance.
Founded in 2016 by former bankers and consultants, Nidhi Kumra and Shubha Lal, Your-Space is a sincere endeavour to address every need of the student, cognizant of local and cultural requirements, with unique takes on what constitutes the best and most trusted hostel for young adults who study away from home. Your-Space was born with a purpose, to change students’ world for their better and add value in the way they live when they pursue their higher studies. Its foundation is cemented together with four pillars of commitment to Safety, Comfort, Community, and Health. The company’s vision is to create a trusted and recognized brand of quality student living and enriching student experience Pan India.
Your-Space is on a mission to provide parents a secure and comfortable living for their children. It aspires to offer the students a holistic living experience in a friendly and inclusive community.
Commenting on the funding, Co-founder and COO of Your-Space, Shubha Lal, said in a statement, “The fundraising is a testament to the confidence of our stake holders in our value proposition- sharp focus on product management and redefining customer service standards at a reasonable price. The funds will help us deepen our presence in a competitive crowded market. It gives us the fire power to continue delivering global service standards at scale.”
With the fresh influx of students, to the top tier cities, only 30% avail on campus accommodation, leaving 70% of the students to seek other housing options. The student housing market is projected to continue to grow to a USD 25+ billion per annum by 2025. Though the last two years have been tough on the education sector in particular, your-space has tripled the size of their business.
Adding further about the investment, Co-founder and CEO, Nidhi Kumra, said, “We are in the sector of Student Lifestyle! A lifestyle that is designed to promote education, personal growth and student happiness. Our strategy for expansion is to remain focused on being the most preferred student housing brand in India. We are operating best in class real estate, enveloped in user-friendly technology and service oriented people, hence delivering the best customer experience to students, parents and educational institutes.”
The company is on track for their fiscal year projections which is a reaffirmation by the student community and their parents to the business model.
On his recent investment in Your-Space, Managing Director of General Atlantic, Shantanu Rastogi, said, “There is a significant unmet need for safe, comfortable, convenient and affordable lodging & community spaces for 30M+ migrant undergrad and post-grad students in India. India being one of the largest suppliers of skilled talent across engineering, medicine, law, finance and several other professions to the world, needs high quality student housing operators to address this large and growing demand alongside high quality universities and institutions.”
Managing Director of Capital Foods, Ajay Gupta, added, “This segment is growing and has demonstrated growth every year even during economic downturn. The Indian student population base is growing consistently. The future of student housing is going to be driven by technology and building a strong community and Your-Space is at the cusp of bringing about this change.”
With more than 7000 operational beds in 9 cities, Your-Space will have more than 20,000 beds by July 2022 for the coming 2022-2023 academic year.
