Stellaris Venture, others invest $2.2 mn in education financing platform Propelld

Bengaluru-based Propelld, a student education financing platform, has raised Rs 15 crore ($2.2 million at current exchange rate) from Stellaris Venture Partners and India Quotient, among others.

Propelld said in a statement that existing investor Indian Angel Network Fund also participated in the round, along with other investors including Raghunandan G, co-founder of TaxiForSure, and Ramakant Sharma, co-founder of Livspace, both of whom participated as members of Stellaris’ Founder Network.

Propelld provides finance to students pursuing vocational training in areas ranging from machine learning to hospitality management, who otherwise may not have access to formal bank credit. The platform, owned and operated by Bluebear Technologies Pvt. Ltd, uses its algorithm to assess employment prospects and creditworthiness of applicants.

“Education financing is a massively under-served opportunity in India, where a tiny percentage of students have access to bank credit. Propelld can determine the students’ future income and consequently offer credit to a much larger student population,” said Ritesh Banglani, partner, Stellaris Venture Partners.

Bibhu Prasad Das, co-founder of Propelld, said, “We are expanding the education credit market by creating tailor-made loan products with inputs from our institute and NBFC (non-banking financial company) partners, so that default risk is identified early, and the downside is shared between the stakeholders.”

The startup has tied up with over 150 educational institutes across the country and has extended loans to over 1,500 students. With this fundraising round, it plans to increase its base of institutes and students 10 times over the next 18 months.

Propelld was founded in 2017 by Das, Victor Senapaty and Brijesh Samantaray.