“This was an important part of our decision-making to rebrand to Dfavo,” said CEO Pål Kvalheim.

“We are much more than a digital portal, we assign as many as four of our employees to every application to ensure the highest levels of service, compliance and quality control.

“We have to work alongside universities as an open and transparent book”

“The edtech element just makes our human element more efficient and connected.”

With more than 130 staff globally, the company suggested the human element has been essential to its growth – having generated over 17,700 applications in 2020-21 from 11,000 registered users.

Students come to the portal both directly and via 3,000 channel partners.

Of the 8,000+ students on the platform that have had their applications reviewed by schools, more than 7,000 have received their letters of acceptance. A further 2,675 students are currently in the first phase of submitting their applications.

Approximately 85% of students have been accepted in the first 12 months of operations, the company explained, adding that the high ratio of acceptances is likely a result of the quality control it does when assisting in writing applications.

“We have to work alongside universities as an open and transparent book,” Kvalheim added.

“Not only are we happy to fully disclose our channel partner list to partner institutions, but we welcome their assistance in regulation if they are aware of third parties that pose a compliance risk.”

Destination markets for students and agents using the portal include Canada, US, and UK, as well as alternative study destinations such as Ukraine and Japan.

“We just aim to offer a crystal-clear service for students, schools and recruiters to track applications,” Kvalheim continued.

“It makes complete sense to us to have as many global university products as possible in one place and provide maximum choice for applicants. In my experience other sectors would categorise this as customer focus rather than disruption.”