South Asia’s largest study abroad platform is on a journey to democratize global education and careers

At 26, Nena Sidhapura was doing quite well in all aspects. She had a well-paying I.T. job, a very loving and caring family and a cosy home in Mumbai. But then it struck her - the world has so much more to offer! When people her age were getting married and settling down, Nena decided to start her journey from scratch!

A ship is safe in the harbour, but that's not what ships are for! This reflection made her take a life-changing decision to pursue higher education abroad in Canada. With the help of expert guidance from LeapScholar's counsellors, she secured admission for a business analytics program at Seneca College, Canada. The same stands true for Mishita Kesarwani, who enrolled for an MSc in Computer Science at the National University of Ireland, Galway.

Building a global community of and for students
Nena and Mishita are among the hundreds of aspirational students whom Leap has helped pursue their dream of studying abroad. The Series C startup, founded in 2019 by IIT-Kharagpur alumni Vaibhav Singh and Arnav Kumar, has already made its mark as South Asia's largest online study abroad platform. Leap, which runs LeapScholar and LeapFinance, is backed by marquee investors including Sequoia Capital India, Owl Ventures, Jungle Ventures and Harvard Management Company.

The idea behind Leap was to build a student-centric and customer-obsessed company that can enable young and ambitious students to access quality global education and careers. Over the last couple of years, the platform has built one of the largest online communities of study abroad aspirants globally with nearly 1.5 million members.

One-stop solution from IELTS prep to visa and placement assistance
LeapScholar provides a full suite of products and services to students to help them navigate through the entire journey abroad. The company’s offerings include study abroad counselling, IELTS online coaching, visa application, and financing among others. A vital offering of this suite is IELTS test preparation. Powered by leading educators, IELTS Prep by LeapScholar is one of India's largest online IELTS learning platforms and has helped almost a million students ace the exam. LeapScholar's IELTS prep mobile app has over a million downloads and is one of the most popular apps globally in the IELTS prep category. The app has many truly innovative features, including 'Speaking Rooms', a forum where IELTS aspirants can practise their English speaking with each other for free.

LeapScholar also offers college admissions counselling as one of its core services. Through its digital platform, it connects students to 3,000+ established study abroad experts across the country to help them make the most informed study abroad choices.

Quality education through innovation
Leap Advantage by LeapScholar helps students access high-quality global education easily through innovative offerings like the College Credit Program (CCP) and the twinning program. Through courses featuring top instructors from schools such as Cornell, Yale, NYU and MIT, students get a head start with the CCP by earning credits at nearly half the cost. On the other hand, the twinning program allows students to begin their academic journey with a U.S. university from India and then graduate in the U.S. with a master's degree, with a one-year campus study experience and a work visa, saving up to 50% of the cost.

Empowering students through funding and jobs assistance
The company's financial arm, LeapFinance, provides education loans to aspirants based on their merit and future potential. Up to 100% financing of education loans is available through LeapFinance, with the interest rates being much lower than the prevailing rates in India. LeapFinance also offers students a U.S. bank account along with a credit card, helping students become part of the destination country's financial ecosystem from the very first day. Also, if one is looking for internships or jobs post-study, LevelUp by LeapFinance will help land the most suitable ones for a truly international career through its host of mentors.

Leap continues to invest in and lead the massive transformational growth witnessed by the study abroad market. Recently, the company was featured amongst the top 100 most promising edtech startups by HolonIQ in India and South Asia and also one of the very few Indian edtech firms to feature in the coveted global list of 2022 GSV Edtech 150.