Visa crackdowns are blocking off scholars’ study-abroad goals, so India’s Leverage Edu is rerouting them via NewsFlicks

As visa crackdowns and diplomatic tensions block conventional study-abroad routes, India’s Leverage Edu helps scholars reroute their goals — from Canada to Germany, and from India to Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. That agility is paying off: the startup has doubled its earnings, became winning, and is now increasing its world footprint.

Over the last a number of months, scholars throughout rising markets have confronted increasing uncertainty round world faculty admissions. Transferring visa regulations and diplomatic tensions — from the 2023–2024 standoff between India and Canada to new traces in India–U.S. ties over price lists and immigration coverage — have disrupted software timelines and eligibility for 1000’s. Nations reminiscent of Canada and Australia have presented stricter pupil visa insurance policies, catching many households off guard. Even long-standing native specialists and study-abroad corporations have struggled to conform. In the meantime, Leverage — the startup at the back of the study-abroad platform Leverage Edu — has replied via serving to scholars determine choice locations and regulate briefly, conserving their plans not off course regardless of the disruption.

The eight-year-old startup was once fast to reply when India–Canada family members soured, serving to Indian scholars reroute to Germany and aiding Canadian universities in recruiting from Nigeria — successfully salvaging pupil pipelines in each areas. It’s now making use of that very same playbook amid ongoing U.S.–India traces.

Whilst Leverage continues to ship scholars to the U.S., a increasing percentage of that call for now comes from international locations like Brazil and Vietnam — the place hobby in U.S. universities stays sturdy, founder and CEO Akshay Chaturvedi mentioned in an interview.

That talent to shift briefly throughout geographies is now central to Leverage’s enlargement technique. Within the final two months, the startup has expanded into Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam, and Malaysia — rising markets with increasing numbers of scholars searching for to check overseas however with restricted get right of entry to to structured admissions toughen. With this push, Leverage now operates in 16 international locations the place it recruits scholars, serving to them follow to universities throughout 11 vacation spot international locations.

Past programs, the startup — headquartered in Noida, a tech hub at the outskirts of New Delhi — is positioning itself as a full-service platform for world training, serving to scholars plan, finance, and arrange their trips. Its equipment come with a cellular app, an AI-powered direction seek engine, a college matchmaking instrument known as UniConnect, and a newly introduced SaaS suite for world universities underneath the emblem Univalley.ai.

The startup has additionally expanded into adjoining classes, with choices like Leverage MBBS for scientific aspirants underneath Leverage Edu, in addition to Fly Finance for training loans, Fly Houses for pupil housing, and different products and services underneath Leverage Careers and Compass.

Leverage now puts over 10,000 scholars yearly, up from round 1,500 only some years in the past. A lot of that enlargement has come thru natural call for, with 60% of pupil acquisitions requiring 0 buyer acquisition price, in step with Chaturvedi.

“Our hole has narrowed with maximum of our world competition who have been both huge indexed firms or who had raised a few of these mega rounds,” he instructed TechCrunch.

Financially, Leverage has noticed sharp enlargement — and became winning for the primary time this yr, a rarity in India’s edtech sector. The startup closed fiscal yr 2025 with over ₹1.8 billion (round $20 million) in earnings, doubling from the former yr’s ₹900 million (roughly $10 million). Between April and September, the primary part of fiscal yr 2026, it generated greater than ₹2 billion (kind of $23 million), and is not off course to finish the fiscal yr with ₹3.7–₹3.8 billion (about $45 million) in earnings.

At the profitability entrance, Leverage garnered ₹120–130 million (roughly $1.4–1.5 million) in benefit after tax, and expects to surpass ₹250 million ($2.8 million) via the tip of fiscal yr 2026— marking a 256% turnaround from a full-year lack of ₹800 million in fiscal yr 2025.

The startup generates round 25% of its earnings from its platform companies, which toughen scholars past admissions — with value-added products and services together with loans, cash remittance, housing, and help with securing internships or first jobs. The remainder 75% of earnings comes from its core training industry — the scholar placement and counseling products and services. Inside that, about 20% comes immediately from scholars and 55% from universities in commissions, Chaturvedi instructed TechCrunch.

India stays Leverage’s greatest supply marketplace, accounting for 58% of its general pupil base. Throughout the nation, the startup specializes in states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Punjab — areas that persistently ship huge numbers of scholars to universities overseas.

When it comes to locations, the U.Okay. stays Leverage’s greatest marketplace, accounting for 52% of pupil placements, adopted via Germany at 22%. Italy — its fastest-growing marketplace this summer time — could also be gaining traction.

North The united states recently represents not up to 5% of general placements for Leverage, reflecting tightened visa regulations and diplomatic headwinds in recent times. The startup expects this percentage to develop as its presence expands throughout Latin The united states, Southeast Asia, and the Heart East.

India IPO in plans, most probably for 2026

With emerging revenues and an increasing world footprint, the startup is now weighing a possible IPO in India as early as subsequent yr, and funding bankers have already made early pitches, folks accustomed to the topic instructed TechCrunch.

Founder and CEO Chaturvedi didn’t deny the opportunity of a public checklist, however he mentioned Leverage would make a decision between pursuing an IPO or elevating exterior capital after hitting the $100 million earnings milestone, which the corporate expects to achieve someday in 2026.

Up to now, Leverage has raised not up to $50 million in fairness. The corporate operates throughout 27 international locations thru over 50 workplaces and has a headcount of round 800 folks.