Vienova Education Pvt Ltd, a Delhi-based affordable education provider, has raised an additional Rs 15.7 crore or approximately $3 million from Bamboo Finance who manages the Oasis Fund. The current investment follows earlier funding by the Indian Angel Network and others in 2008 and by Helion Advisors in 2011.
With this round of funding, Keith Allman from Bamboo Finance joins the board of Vienova. Other board members include Helion’s Sanjeev Aggarwal, IAN’s Saurabh Srivastava and serial entrepreneur Rohit Chand.
Bamboo Finance has earlier invested in the affordable hospital chain Vaatsalya and low power consuming ATM maker Vortex Engineering. Bamboo Finance manages the Oasis Fund, a Luxembourg-based investment fund with $250 million under management and offices in Bogota, Singapore, San Francisco, Luxembourg and Geneva.
Earlier investments in the affordable education space include Hippocampus Learning Centres (Unitus Seed Fund) and K12 Techno Services (Song Investment and Sequoia).
Vienova uses innovative and low-cost IT-enabled systems and tailored education content targeting affordable schools across northern India. The company has been founded by Parikshit Jain, an IIT-Delhi and IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus with six-plus years of experience at the consulting major McKinsey & Co.
“High quality, affordable education for value-conscious audiences is one of the most pressing needs of this country and is undoubtedly the largest segment of the Indian education sector, with more than 100 million potential beneficiaries,†a statement said. Vienova currently seeks to expand its services to 100 schools.
Grameen Capital India was the exclusive advisor to Vienova on this transaction.
“The Indian affordable education sector has been in our sights for years. However, until we were introduced to Vienova, we struggled to find an investable company. Vienova immediately stood out with its deep focus on high quality educational services, a strategic expansion plan to address an underserved and fragmented market, and a very capable management team that can execute its planning,†said Keith Allman, investment manager of Bamboo Finance.
“With this support, we have successfully treaded uncharted territories, extensively leveraging innovation, technology and capital, to bring a unique, saleable solution to the affordable education space,†said Parikshit Jain, CEO of Vienova Education.
“Vienova has done well to up the ante and target expansion of services to 100-plus schools. Bamboo Finance brings to the table its know-how in building businesses that meets the twin objectives of social impact and profitability. We look forward to working with the Vienova team in their expansion plans and in setting benchmarks for the rest of the industry to emulate,†said Sanjeev Aggarwal of Helion