Kuhoo, a financial technology startup focused on student loans, has raised $20 million (about INR 151 Crore) in a seed round from WestBridge Capital.
With the recent fundraise, the Mumbai-based startup is now looking to partner with banks and non-banking finance institutions (NBFCs) along with top colleges in India to provide credit to students.
Founded in 2021 by banking veteran Prashant A. Bhonsle, Kuhoo provides digital loans to students applying to universities in India and abroad. The company currently focuses on providing loans for higher education courses, including engineering, business administration, executive education, online courses, among others.
Kuhoo is on a mission to bridge the gap and convert aspirations to reality. It believes that education is the key that can truly unlock the potential of all that India has to offer to the world and can propel the nation to the heights of success.
Speaking about the company, Prashant A. Bhonsle, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Kuhoo, said,
“We combine advanced technology along with data science to create risk and credit models. These models help us evaluate students’ potential employability and future incomes for various courses (that they) enrol in.”
Kuhoo competes with Propelld, which also focuses on providing education loans to individuals, and Sequoia-backed Eduvanz, which lends to individuals looking to reskill and upskill themselves.
Commenting on the funding, Deepak Ramineedi, Partner of WestBridge Capital, said,
“With the rising costs of education, we believe that India needs loan providers who comprehensively understand the problems of students, parents, and academic institutes. Assessing future employability and income of students are two of the biggest challenges for existing banks and NBFCs that offer student loans.”
Kuhoo’s solutions are customized for individual needs by using advanced technology, data science, and analytics. The startup’s on the hunt for intelligent, intuitive, and passionate team players who are ready to revolutionise and innovate the student loan industry and champion the cause of accessible education to every eligible Indian student.
Kuhoo has also joined the likes of 10Club, Acko, CRED, INDmoney, and Jupiter which also raised $20 million or more in their seed round.
