GyanDhan Raises ₹50 Crore Series A from Classplus, Pravega to Expand India Education Financing

GyanDhan, an Indian education financing platform founded by IIT alumni Ankit Mehra and Jainesh Sinha, has raised Rs 50 crore in Series A funding from edtech company Classplus and venture capital firm Pravega Ventures to expand its operations. The funding will be used to scale its consultant partnership network, enhance its technology platform, and double its partnered financial institutions from 15 to 30, while expanding its physical presence to over 50 Tier II and III cities. GyanDhan aims to democratize access to higher education financing by simplifying the loan process and targeting underserved markets, with a goal to increase loan originations to Rs 18,000 crore over the next three years from the current Rs 7,000 crore. The company also plans to invest in community-building activities such as seminars, workshops, and financial literacy programs, and explore opportunities in skilling and executive education sectors. This funding round reflects strong investor confidence in GyanDhan's mission to unlock educational opportunities for millions of Indian families and address the significant gap in education loan penetration compared to developed markets. The platform operates a hybrid model combining a loan marketplace with its own NBFC lending arm, partnering with over 100 education consultants and financial institutions including SBI, ICICI, and Credila.