• UAE-based edtech SecureMyScholarship has raised $550,000 in a bridge funding round at a valuation of $6 million. 
• The round was led by Kaustubh Wagle, Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group Middle East; Ramit Harisinghani, General Manager of the Devialet and Dyson brands at Chalhoub Group; and Sabban Corp Investments, a Dubai-based venture capital.
• Founded in 2021 by Craig Fernandes, SecureMyScholarship’s platform connects students with scholarship opportunities.
• The fresh funds will be used to accelerate product development and expand the startup's operations into India.

Press release:

SecureMyScholarship, a Dubai-based edtech platform that connects students with scholarship opportunities, has raised $550,000 in a bridge funding round, which, in turn, values the company at $6 million. The fresh funds will be used to accelerate product development and expand the startup's operations into India.

The investment round saw participation from a number of investors, including Kaustubh Wagle, Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group Middle East; Ramit Harisinghani, General Manager of the Devialet and Dyson brands at Chalhoub Group; and Sabban Corp Investments, a Dubai-based venture capital firm with a focus on early-stage investments across the GCC.

The latest investment brings the startup's total capital raised to $1.2 million. The startup states that it is already cash flow-positive, as well as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA)-positive.

Since launching in November 2021, SecureMyScholarship has managed to list 414 universities on its platform, including nearly all of the private universities in the UAE, over 220 in the USA, and over 150 in the UK. As of March 2024, the startup has disbursed over $8.2 million in scholarships, which has helped over 1,500 students secure scholarships and enrol in their dream universities around the world.

Speaking about the demand for the startup's services, SecureMyScholarship co-founder and CEO Craig Fernandes says that there are between 5,000 and 10,000 students visiting its website every week looking for funding options and scholarships. "Our platform is 100% free for students applying for scholarships in the UAE, and for students applying for scholarships in the USA and UK, we charge a nominal one-time subscription fee of $50," Fernandes notes. "Aside from scholarship support, our team also helps students with loan applications, visa applications, and university application submissions." Fernandes and his fully remote team, which consists of 26 people based in 16 different cities across five countries around the world, now aim to connect students with $100 million in scholarships by expanding its university network, growing to new geographies, and further enhancing the platform.

Speaking about the future of the edtech space, Fernandes expects that, one, the demand for top quality higher education will continue to surge, two, tuition at top universities will continue to rapidly increase, and, three, demand for distance learning/online degrees will continue to significantly decline, which has been an active trend since the end of the COVID-19 crisis. "Our platform is built keeping all three of these in mind," Fernandes says. "We list many of the world's top 200 universities on our platform (including quite a few of the top 50 global universities), and all universities listed on our platform are present with a scholarship/fee waiver for students who apply via our platform, thus helping provide financial relief for students. 99% of courses listed on our platform are on-campus courses."

Looking back on lessons learned through the fundraising process for SecureMyScholarship, Fernandes says that being authentic and genuine is key when it comes to pitching. "Investors hear hundreds of pitches every week, so they can recognise the ChatGPT jargon from a mile away—instead, just be yourself," he explains. "Then, stand your ground. Every investor has a thousand ideas for what they could do or how they could do it differently, but at the end of the day, it's your startup and your dream. Stay true to that, and remember what you're pitching. If you try to rework your pitch every time an investor has an idea, you will end up going nowhere. Lastly, sell the outcome (i.e., the vision), not the process."

According to Fernandes, the success SecureMyScholarship has seen is owing to him and his team focusing on monetisation from the get-go, and that is his first piece of advice for fellow entrepreneurs. Indeed, he urges them to focus on monetization rather than raising funds, as "pre-revenue startups in UAE find it very difficult to raise capital," he notes. Furthermore, for anyone looking to build a sustainable business, Fernandes' advice is to start planning for geographic expansion early on. "The UAE has only ever had one unicorn exit (despite the enormous amounts of capital in the region), and the reason for this is the small local market," he points out. "The UAE does not have a large enough home market to scale to millions of users, and, therefore, eventually you will need to scale regionally/externally." Lastly, building a team that cares about the mission is key to the success of any startup, Fernandes states. "Startups are built on faith and hope, not fat salaries or generous benefits," he concludes. "You will most likely have to provide equity and underpay for talent, and, therefore, it is very important to build a team of people that care deeply about the mission, and who you can trust to have your back when things get tough. Otherwise, when plans don't materialise and you need to shift strategy, you may find key team members leaving for higher salaries elsewhere."

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