The once-lucrative company – worth a reported $45 million in 2023 – appears to have paused its operations and is now working with affected students to try and facilitate the trips they have booked.
In a message sent to affected students and stakeholders, reported by Australian publication The Koala yesterday, the company’s Australian onshore team confirmed the situation.
The team said it was “deeply sorry” to share that operations had been suspended and that it was “no longer part of the company” as a result.
“We just found out about this news at the same time as you, and we have also been affected – we have not been paid our salaries,” the statement read.
While the team recognised the statement would raise many questions and said it would “love to do more”, it said could not legally provide any more details.
“We fully empathise with you and know that this situation is difficult for everyone – we are going through the same thing. Our onshore team has simply done its job and followed orders during this time,” it explained.
To support us in this process, we will provide you with as much visibility and transparency as possible regarding each student’s situation in your school
GrowPro
The news appears to have come unexpectedly, with GrowPro still posting marketing updates on its website as recently as late last week.
However, the onshore team’s message said an “official statement with more details” would be issued in the coming days. In the meantime, it told students to make any pending payments directly to their schools and advised that those in the process of renewing their visas would receive more information soon.
In a message sent to school partners, seen by The PIE News, the GrowPro board of directors revealed that an abruptly withdrawn offer of investment into the company had “severely compromised” the organisation’s viability.
While it confirmed that had consulted with its legal team and decided to “halt new sales”, it committed to helping “as many students as possible” to continue with their trips booked through the company.
“We fully understand the impact this situation may cause and the uncertainty it brings. We are actively working to find solutions that will allow us to fulfil our commitments,” GrowPro said.
It promised to prioritise working with students who have upcoming trips in the next two-to-three week and said it would rely on its partner schools to help it “facilitate the process and ensure that students can continue with their travel plans”.
“To support us in this process, we will provide you with as much visibility and transparency as possible regarding each student’s situation in your school. We are gathering all the necessary information and will share it as soon as possible,” GrowPro said.
Having opened in Australia in 2013, GrowPro spent the next few years expanding into Latin America, Canada, the UK and the US, employing over 50 agents as of 2022.
The international education sector in Australia has reacted to the news with shock, with GrowPro’s abrupt suspension of operations opening up wider questions about how agencies operate.
Reacting to the news, Oscar Codoceo, managing director of Burleigh Heads Language College in Australia’s Gold Coast, said he felt that GrowPro had “expanded too quickly with funding, prioritising growth over the students while also increasing visa refusals”.
“Maybe in the near future, schools will handle direct recruitment and visa applications – or perhaps it’s already happening,” he told The PIE News.
Director of the edtech platform Educli, Jan Karel Bejcek, said that the “abrupt shutdown” had “left a significant financial void and raised concerns about the broader implications for international education”.
But the “crisis” offered the sector an “opportunity to strengthen industry standards and implement safeguards that prevent similar disruptions in the future”, he posted on LinkedIn.
Meanwhile, the co-founder and managing director of the Australia-based Latinoz Education agency, Paulina Bravo, described the impact of the situation as “massive”.
“This isn’t just about a large number of students losing their life savings – many of them come from struggling LATAM economies and have made enormous sacrifices to study in Australia, with no easy path to financial recovery,” she commented on LinkedIn. “It also affects the education agent sector and the international education industry as a whole, both of which have long struggled with a negative reputation and are often seen as ‘dodgy'”.
