EasyUni.com, a Malaysia-based university search portal has received Series B funding of an undisclosed amount from Axiata Digital Innovation Fund, an investment fund established by Axiata, one of the largest Asian telecommunications companies.
EasyUni.com, which lists over 70,000 courses and programmes for 2,000 colleges and universities in more than 20 countries, says it will use the funding to expand into new markets and develop its product.
“EasyUni.com wants to be the portal to go to when students all over the world look and apply to a university of their choice,” said CEO and co-founder Edwin Tay.
The Axiata Digital Innovation Fund was established in Kuala Lumpur in 2014 by Axiata Group Berhad and Malaysia Venture Capital Management Berhad. EasyUni is one of six Malaysian firms to receive part of its $3m investment to further develop technology companies in the country.
Through the investment the ADIF will hold 20-40% stakes in the companies.
“We believe the initial six companies that we selected from hundreds of other prospects offer compelling and innovative services via web and mobile platforms,” said Kamarul Nizam Kassim, partner at Mavcap’s subsidiary Intres Capital Partners Sdn Bhd.
“From a Muslim-friendly travel portal to a global higher education research platform, to an e-commerce fulfilment aggregator and virtual assistant service, these services are highly relevant in today’s fast-evolving market. As such, we are confident that these companies have strong growth prospects.”
EasyUni.com is targeting savvy students interested in leapfrogging counsellors and agents in order to find the right overseas programme on their own. Its platform allows students to search, compare and apply to courses through one of its ten country portals.
“In the future, university and college applications will be done online, thus disrupting the current conventional method of offline form filling”
“We believe that in the future, university and college applications will be done online, thus disrupting the current conventional method of offline form filling or personal application via university registration offices,” said Tay.
Since launching in 2008, the company says 1,800 students have submitted an application to the university of their choice through the site.
According to the company, it has helped to generate US$130m worth of business for its clients and helped over 3,000,000 students around Asia to decide where to study.
