India-Based Leap Finance Secures $100M Debt Facility to Expand Global Student Loans

Leap Finance Co-Founders: Arnav Kumar and Vaibhav Singh

Overseas education-focused edtech platform Leap Finance has secured $100 million debt facility from London headquartered-HSBC Bank under its ASEAN Growth Fund.

The debt facility will allow Leap to expand its lending portfolio and extend services further in U.S, new university partnerships besides deepening presence in India, the firm said in a statement on March 5.

The debt facility comes from HSBC's $1 billion ASEAN Growth Fund launched last year in March.

The announcement also follows Leap's $65 million Series E equity round led by Apis Partners last month, taking it total fundraise to over $400 Million in both equity and debt, to date.

Founded in 2019, Leap, which runs LeapScholar, LeapFinance, GeeBee and Yocket, caters to Indian student perusing or wishing to peruse higher education abroad.  The platform offers international test prep such as IELTS, TOEFL and SAT, admissions and visa counselling as well as international student loans.

The San Francisco-incorporated and Bengaluru-headquartered claims to have extended over $250 million in education loans across more than 5,000 students.

Per the company, unlike traditional bank, the collateral free-loans by Leap are based on a student’s future earning potential, and not their family’s current means, which can be unlocked via quality education.

"Our mission is to democratise access to global education and careers for students. With lack of financing often the largest impediment to their global aspirations, this facility will enable us to help hundreds of students make their move abroad. More importantly, in HSBC we have a partner who for decades has been helping people and businesses open up to global opportunities," said Vaibhav Singh, Co-founder, Leap.

Shaun Sakhrani, Head of Structured Banking, Southeast Asia, HSBC, added to this saying, "We are honored to provide Leap Finance with this bespoke and scalable facility that will help grow its portfolio while supporting more Indian students as they pursue higher education in the US. With the unique metrics of the ASEAN Growth Fund, we are able to support Leap Finance as they expand their business and footprint.”

Source: MoneyControl