Singapore-based edtech company Cialfo co-founded by a 32-year-old Indian, Rohan Pasari – has announced it has secured a further $20 million in funding as part of a Series B extension, led by US-based investment firm Tiger Global. The news follows January’s announcement of a $40 million round co-led by global investment firm Square Peg and Australian-headquartered SEEK Investments, taking the round size to $60m. This brings the total raised to date to $77 million, including the initial US$15 million in Series A funding in February 2021.
This latest funding will help the company to achieve this mission by increasing its investment in strategic markets like India, including special scholarships for students, it said in a press statement.
A US$20 million target was initially set for the Series B round, and the team managed to triple this figure as demand for international student mobility and virtual college recruitment soared during the pandemic, it said.
Commenting on the company’s Series B funding round, Cialfo CEO and Co-Founder Rohan Pasari said: “We are very excited to receive continued backing from the global investor community and we are grateful to Tiger Global for extending our Series B to $60m. Our full focus remains on evolving in a way that positively impacts our students, schools, and ultimately, society, with speed and at scale. This funding will help us to do just that. It also will allow us to invest in continuous product development so we can deliver even more personalized and practical support to our community of students, counselors and universities. Importantly, growing our operations in critical markets, and expand our 360 offerings to include scholarships, are among the ways we plan to capitalize on this infusion of capital, and give more back in return.”
Cialfo began its India operations in 2019 and has already enrolled over 300 high schools and 60 universities from the country as members. More than 56,000 Indian high school students are utiliszing its platform every year to secure undergraduate college admissions, it said.
A short-term surge in EdTech spending, brought on by COVID-19, is expected to recalibrate to a longer-term integration of digital technologies by schools from K12 to universities, and to drive higher adoption rates of hybrid education experiences in the years ahead. According to Research and Markets, the global education technology sector is experiencing a digital transformation – with a predicted growth of up to 130 percent by 2027 – which is expected to benefit people across a wide range of socio-economic and geographic backgrounds.
