Excl: Vishal Gondal, Ronnie Screwvala invest in MeraCareerGuide.com

Indiagames founder and angel investor Vishal Gondal and Walt Disney India chief Ronnie Screwvala have invested an undisclosed amount in MeraCareerGuide.com, sources familiar with the development told Techcircle.in. The online career counselling platform for students is run by Delhi-based Catalog Educational Services Pvt Ltd.

When contacted, Surabhi Dewra, founder of MeraCareerGuide, said, "I can't comment on this development at present." However, going by the industry trend, Dewra feels that the online education space is getting hot for investments and will gain traction in the coming times.

MeraCareerGuide.com is a career counselling platform for students to help them in career decisions and plan out suitable career paths. It was formed in 2009 and in April 2011, Love Chopra joined hands with Dewra. At present, the company has a 10-member team in place and claims to have catered to more than 2 lakh students.

According to Dewra, most Indian students take career decision without much assistance or professional help. That is precisely why they are left without a clear vision when it is time to join the workforce. MeraCareerGuide has been set up to address this gap.

Students seeking help can avail career counselling from industry experts and career counsellors through the site. This can be done sitting at home as the portal leverages information & communication technology to provide career counselling, using scientifically designed career assessment, IVR telephony and e-mail. Its psychometric career assessment tools are designed to help students track their aptitude, personality, motivators and interests, and map those to ensure the right career fit.

This is not the first investment of Screwvala in the education space. In November this year, Unilazer Ventures, the family office set up by Walt Disney India chief Ronnie Screwvala, acquired 2.34 per cent stake in Matrix Partners-backed pre-school management company Tree House Education & Accessories Ltd for Rs 17.2 crore ($3.2 million).

A few days ago, Vishal Gondal also invested in Examify, an education-focused online service that uses algorithms and crowd sourcing to generate exam-specific knowledge, allowing students to identify important topics and questions. The site covers CBSE, IGCSE, IB and ICSE Board examinations, as well as IIT-JEE and BITSAT examinations.

Of late, the online education space has been gaining significant traction from investors. In August this year, Simplilearn.com, an online education and training destination for professional certification courses, raised an undisclosed amount from IndoUS Venture Partners. The online venture is owned and operated by Bangalore-based Simplilearn Solutions Pvt Ltd.

In February 2012, Bangalore-based education technology startup Carveniche secured an angel funding of around Rs 1 crore ($0.2 million) from Mumbai Angels. Earlier in January, the Mumbai Angels also invested around $1 million in Bangalore-based eDreams Edusoft Pvt Ltd.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)