Ed-tech start-up, Yocket – that provides finance options to students going abroad to study—is anticipating a pick-up in loan disbursals.

The company is anticipating a disbursal of ₹1,800 crore - ₹2,000 crore during the year across 10,000-odd students.

Loans would mostly be through non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) who use the ed-tech's platform.

A report, “Student, interrupted – International education and the pandemic” The Mitchell Institute for Education and Health Policy at Victoria University (one of Australia's leading health policy thinktank) examined five major destinations for international students: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US. While all these counties saw a sharp decline in mid-2020; but in the twelve months from October 2020 to September 2021, new student visas recovered in countries like the US, Canada and UK.

According to Sumeet Jain, Co-founder, Yocket, the start-up would look at a net disbursal of ₹3,000 crore-odd with average ticket size of loans being in the range of ₹30,00,000 to ₹40,00,000. Of these a part of it will be disbursed this year – primarily semester-wise; while the remainder will come in the following year.

Bringing banks on board

“Over the last three years we have disbursed close to ₹2,000 crore of loans; and this year alone we are looking at disbursing loans worth ₹30,00,000 to ₹40,00,000 over a two-year-study period,” he told BusinessLine . Talks are also on to bring banks on-board.

The company's data show nearly 75 per cent of students who aspire to study abroad opt for education loans, irrespective of the admission season (fall / spring).

According to Jain, despite the pandemic, 'Fall 2021' has seen one of the biggest intakes — student enrollments and education loan assistance.

USA top preference

While the USA colleges top the list of preferences, other countries include the United Kingdom, some colleges in Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Nearly 70 - 80 per cent of the loans disbursed through the platform are for studies in the USA.

Students opting for loans are mostly from India; while overseas students come from countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Indian expats based-out of the Middle East, and some African nations like Nigeria and Ghana.

Revenue Model

The Mumbai-based company, Yocket, follows a free-mium model where the community-based approach or DIY options are free for students. However, the premium model includes consultancy services with students signing up for one-to-one sessions.

Other revenue streams include marketing fees from universities and colleges for participating in education fairs or activities; while the third option include commission and service charges for facilitating loans for the NBFCs and other lending institutions.

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