Excl: Acumen-backed vocational training provider Edubridge in talks to raise $3M

Mumbai-based Edubridge Learning Pvt Ltd, which provides vocational training services to low-income youth, is in advanced talks to raise $3 million (over Rs 18 crore) in Series A investment from institutional investors in exchange for a minority equity stake, a source close to the development told Techcircle.in.

Existing investors Acumen Fund and Artha Ventures are also likely to participate in the new round, revealed the source. Edubridge had earlier raised Rs 1.5 crore from Acumen Fund and another $50,000 from Artha Ventures.

Edubridge's founder and CEO Girish Singhania confirmed the development, but refused to disclose the names of the funds it is currently in talks with.

"We plan to expand to eight new states and increase our reach in the existing markets with this round of funding. A portion of the capital will also be used to develop training applications," said Singhania.

Currently, Edubridge has 15 self-run centres, and it wants to increase the number to 120 over the next three years. Additionally, it looks to increase the franchise centres to 180 from the current five.

Edubridge was founded by IIM graduate Singhania, who previously worked as analyst with companies including Procter & Gamble and Edelweiss Capital. At present, Edubridge has operations across seven states that include Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. It mainly targets the youth aged between 18 and 25 years, who are typically the first formally-employed members of their families. The company claims to have trained over 39,000 students to date. It has also partnered with 100 corporates, seven state governments, and 30 colleges/universities.

Edubridge generates revenues mainly from the students enrolling for its train-and-get hired courses. It also conducts corporate training programmes for brands like Reliance Retail, Serco, Godrej, Axis Bank, DSP, Westside and ICICI Bank, among others.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)