Issue #10. Indian Students Abroad & Investing in European Mobility Industry
How Leverage Edu capitalizes on the growing desire of Indian students to study abroad. How European investors are investing in the mobility industry.
Hello dear reader,
I've decided to shake things up again. For now, I'll focus on two stories and, starting next week, will delve more deeply into them.
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Company of the Week: Leverage Edu
No other country sends more people to study abroad than India. In 2022 alone, over 700,000 Indians left their homeland to study elsewhere. Canada alone welcomed 221,450 students from India, or 41% of its international students in 2022. That's tremendous growth, considering that just over a decade ago, only 60,000 Indians went to university abroad. By some measures, India accounts for 20% of all international students globally1.
Those who want to study abroad need help accessing their options, understanding costs, requirements, getting a visa, finding a place to live, etc. All these things are covered by Leverage Edu. Through their various services, they help students at every step of their international study journey:
Discovery phase: Through their blog, they provide detailed guides on everything from improving your English pronunciation to choosing a scholarship. For example, if you want to study in the UK, their guide will tell you about pricing, exams, application processes, and many other things.
Interest phase: Let's say you've decided to go a bit deeper and find out what specific programs will suit you. For that, they have two tools. First, an AI bot that guides you through several questions and provides you with options based on your answers. I don't know if it's just a marketing tactic or a real thing, but they divide all the options into three groups, from the dream scenario to a safe option. And second, if you're not a fan of talking to bots, you can talk to an expert.
Decision phase: You found the perfect option, and now you start the application phase. Here, Leverage Edu helps you with preparing for standard tests, like IELTS or GMAT, through live sessions and pre-recorded lessons. After you apply, you can track your application's status.
Payment phase: If you got in, through Leverage Edu you can either find financing opportunities or just pay the tuition fee online through the platform.
Enrollment phase: You've paid your tuition, and you are ready to go. But first, you need a visa and you need to find accommodations. As you might've guessed, you can do both using Leverage Edu's products. And if you would like to share your experience or get advice, you can join the company's community.
Leverage Edu's strategy rests on three pillars:
Precisely identifying and targeting markets on a detailed level, such as specific international markets including Dallas and Houston in the US, and on a domestic front, pinpointing 193 micro-markets within India. Focusing on these areas allows for a more tailored marketing approach.
Supporting students throughout their educational journey, which offers several advantages: it reduces the necessity of acquiring a high volume of customers, improves unit economics, allows for the introduction of new products with an insider's advantage over competitors, and provides a sturdy competitive edge by making customer retention easier.
Developing a dual-sided platform that serves both students and universities. This approach streamlines the process for all parties: for instance, students can manage multiple applications via a single portal, while universities benefit from a simplified payment system.
Since its start in 2017, Leverage Edu has grown to support 6,000 students monthly, increasing from just 1,500 in the previous year. Additionally, the company has successfully reduced its marketing expenses from $2,400 to $800 per student. With Leverage Edu earning $4,200 per student, the company is on its way to profitability next year, forecasting a $302 million annual revenue run rate. The tailwinds for the business are massive:
Most developed countries have a talent shortage. Germany's got a 320,000 STEM specialist shortage, and the UK's short 173,000. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said back in 2015 the country might face a 1 million STEM professional deficit. That's eight years ago, and with recent tech layoffs, it's tough to say how things have panned out, but still.
The student population in India is growing. Like we talked about recently, it's projected to go from 40 million in 2020 to 92 million by 2035. With more students looking to study abroad, Leverage Edu's addressable market could blow up to 3-4 times bigger in the next decade.
Community growth spurs product expansion. . Leverage Edu’s is the best source for new ideas. Every platform use case, every unique student story can be turned into a product. Community’s growth helps with generating more new ideas => testing those ideas quicker => scaling the best ideas in a more efficient manner.
There's been a rise in scholarships. Over the last 15 years in the US, the number of students getting merit aid has gone up from 14% to 22%. Europe's got loads of options too, like Germany's 174 scholarship programs.
On the surface, Leverage Edu certainly seems to have a solid business model with ample room for growth.
Random Story of the Week: European Mobility Investing
The mobility industry, especially the EV sub-sector, has been all the rage in the last couple of years, with Europe standing as one of the industry's epicenters. In 2021 and 2022, European startups raised $25.2 billion. So, let's dive in and discuss what's happening in this space.
2021 was a wild outlier for the industry. Companies secured $14 billion in funding — more than the three previous years combined. And, as is common after such a surge, 2022 saw some scaling back, although at $11.2 billion, the figures were still impressive.
Investment in the industry has been — and continues to be — propelled by EV startups. They represent 61% of all mobility investments, with their share steadily increasing from 17% in 2016. Notably, the EV space is dominated by mega-rounds — funding rounds exceeding $100 million. In fact, 73% of all EV investments have been mega-rounds, compared to 46% for the broader mobility sector. This makes sense since projects like building an EV plant or scaling charging infrastructure demand massive investments in fixed assets. Four out of the six biggest mega-rounds were in the EV space:
Northvolt ($1.1 billion) — a Swedish battery manufacturer with operations in Sweden, Poland, Canada, Portugal, and a planned facility in Germany.
Rimac (€500 million) — an automotive manufacturer from Croatia known for building EV sports cars. It gained notoriety when Richard Hammond, the former Top Gear presenter, crashed one of its vehicles.
NW Storm (€300 million) — a French company specializing in high-powered EV charging stations.
Raw Charging (£250 million) — a UK-based charging infrastructure provider.
While overall mobility investing has declined, corporate VC investments have actually seen an uptick in 2022, from $2.7 billion to $3 billion. European automakers are doubling down in the race against EV front-runners like Tesla and NIO by funneling money into two critical future technologies: batteries and autonomy. Verkor, a battery maker, has seen several investment rounds from the likes of the Renault Group; Volkswagen Group was an investor in Northvolt; and TTTech Auto, an Austrian company in the autonomous driving tech space, counts Audi among its major investors.
Looking at the geographic breakdown, there are three tiers of countries:
1. Established major markets. Here, startups have each raised over $1 billion in total. These countries include traditional automotive powerhouses—Germany, France, and Sweden—plus the UK, which has heavily invested in charging infrastructure and, as the third-largest European market, naturally draws investor attention.
2. Secondary markets. Companies from Estonia, the Netherlands, and Spain have raised in the $400-800 million range. Estonia's inclusion in this group is because of the country’s general ability to attract and nurture startups; the Netherlands has been the European leader in deploying EV charging stations with the help of local companies like Fastned, and its role as a major trade hub has enabled logistics startups like Moove to flourish; Spain has established companies in various sub-sectors, such as logistics (Paack), charging (Zunder), local mobility (Cooltra), and others.
3. One or two company markets. In Croatia, Austria, and Greece, the mobility investment scene is dominated by a few key players. The trajectory of these countries in the mobility ecosystem hinges on the success or failure of these companies.
Europe's shift to green technology is a potential boon for the mobility sector, but challenges such as economic and political instability, an aging population, and sparse demographics could impede fundraising and scaling efforts.
According to Project Atlas, there are 6.4 million international students worldwide. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs reports that 1.3 million of these students are Indian citizens studying abroad.