Craydel, a Kenyan EdTech platform that helps students and working professionals in Africa discover, compare, and apply to higher education, has raised $1 million in a pre-seed round led by Enza Capital, a private venture fund that invests in early-stage tech startups across Africa.
Other investors include Future of Learning Fund, a Kenya-based EdTech backer; BriteGaze, a South African artificial intelligence fund; Bisk Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, and Tekton Ventures, a San Francisco-based technology investment firm.
Launched in 2021 by Manish Sardana, John Nguru, and Shayne Aman Premji, Craydel provides students with options at every level, including online certificate programs, for which they can enroll to test the waters before settling on a final decision about the careers they want to pursue.
Craydel is on a mission to democratize access to quality higher education for students and working professionals in Africa. Its online platform has thousands of quality undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational programs offering degrees, diplomas, and certificates from leading universities and colleges in 15 countries around the world. Craydel makes it easy for students and professionals to compare and select the programs and institutions that best fit their career goals, personality, grades, and budget.
Speaking about the company, Manish Sardana, Co-founder & CEO of Craydel, said,
“An estimated $30 billion is spent every year on higher education in Africa. But the current student experience in accessing higher education is abysmal. There is no aggregation of choices, and decision-making is influenced by biases and misinformation. We are transforming the way students discover, compare, and apply to higher education in Africa. We believe in the power of the youth in Africa to create lasting transformative change. And Craydel is driven to empower them to access the best education pathways to unleash their true potential.”
So far, the startup has partnered with more than 90 universities and vocational colleges in Africa and abroad, and currently provides a listing of 3,000 higher education programs.
Mike Mompi, Managing Partner at Enza Capital, said,
“Access to higher education and skills development for Africa’s growing youth population remains fragmented, yet is a fundamental cornerstone to our accelerated development. Craydel is building the rails to democratize access to higher education and to support millions of Africans up this curve.”
With the new funding, Craydel plans to embark on a new path to build its search and recommendation engine for more spot-on suggestions, as well as build resources that will help students and professionals in the decision-making.
