Edtech firm iNurture Education Solutions Tuesday said it has raised $15 million (around Rs 116 crore) in a combination of debt and equity from Hong Kong-based ADM Capital.
ADM Capital has also acquired venture capital firm Ventureast's stake in iNurture, facilitating a complete secondary exit for Ventureast, but did not share any further details on the exit.
The Bengaluru-based startup plans to deploy the fresh capital for propelling the growth of its NEP-ready (National Education Policy 2020) programmes, expanding its 'Centres of Excellence' model across university partners in India and further enhancing its technology stack for student placement.
"Having established a profitable growth trajectory, our efforts in the last few years have been towards strengthening our offerings online, especially focused on student employability as well as powering the Smart University model through the implementation of centres of excellence across our university partner network," said Ashwin Ajila, founder and managing director of iNurture.
"Ventureast has been an exceptional partner to iNurture over the years and given that they wanted to distribute meaningful returns to their limited partners within the fund's life, we have facilitated a successful exit for them," Ajila added.
Founded in 2009 by Ajila, iNurture is an edtech solution provider. It revolves around a university-industry partnership. It collaborates with premium Indian and global universities to power new-age undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
Last year in March, the startup raised Rs 71.5 crore (around $10 million) from returning investor Kimera Ltd, a Dubai-based family office. It raised $4 million (Rs 30 crore) from Kimera Ltd, in 2020. It also raised Rs 10 crore (around $1.34 million) in debt funding from existing investor BlackSoil Capital Pvt. Ltd in the same year.
In 2018, the startup raised Rs 28 crore (approximately $4.4 million) in its series C round of funding round led by Ventureast.
According to the statement, the startup has partnerships with over 30 university campuses across India, offering over 50 programmes on campus, and has more than 15,000 students enrolled in these differentiated programmes. It also has partnered with global universities providing programmes in design, digital business, sports, luxury and hospitality management including several courses in emerging technologies.
In the fiscal year 2022, iNurture said it has grossed a turnover of $29 million with an EBIDTA of $2.5 million. It is targeting to exceed its long-term revenue CAGR of 40% for the fiscal year 2023 while expanding its profit margin on account of significant operating leverage.
“ADM Capital is excited by the opportunity to fund a business that is enabling employability focussed education both through online and on-campus programmes, thereby aligning with various UN Sustainable Development Goals. iNurture is a unique, omnichannel business expected to capitalise on strong demographics and an expected increase in student enrolment," said Chris Botsford, co-founding partner at ADM Capital.
Established in 1998, ADM Capital is an investment manager with specialist competence in private markets and a focus on sustainable investment. It pursues three main investment strategies: ESG-integrated private debt capital solutions to mid-market corporates across Asia-Pacific; private debt capital for climate-related transactions and private equity-focused on sustainable food and agriculture investments primarily across North America, Europe and Australia.
