Hexaware founder Atul Nishar is back with EdTech startup ‘Azent’

After exiting Hexaware in 2013 with a cheque of Rs 1,000 crore, Atul Nishar is back again in the technology arena with his new venture Azent Overseas Education Limited, an online- offline EdTech Startup.

Nishar whose first venture was educational institute Aptech, which he exited in 2003, is back in the education space after a gap of over a decade and a half.

Nishar's daughter Priyanka Nishar - an alumnus of Harvard Business School and Cornell University would be running the new business.

"In 1985 I launched Aptech. That was when computer education was dominated by unorganized players except for NIIT. I see a similar situation today in the overseas education counselling market. There is an overload of information. Student search on Google, get so much information that they don't know what to do. We have used technology to create a business model, which is a combination of online-offline. Students can access the platform at anytime and anywhere to get the right guidance," Nishar told BusinessLine .

Nishar has set apart Rs 250 crore for Azent, which will be used for investment in technology, infrastructure, building product offerings and acquisitions.

During the past 6 years, Nishar had been busy working with startups closely and even invested in another Edtech startup. He says he'll use a part of the Rs 250 crore investment to buy out technology startups to boost product offerings for Azent and to also increase their offerings in the overall education space.

“Azent is structured as a Public Limited company. This is one of a kind as distinguished from the proprietary and partnership model that is prevalent in the advisory industry,” said Nishar.

Priyanka Nishar, Founder, Azent Overseas Education added, “Our students can access over 1200 universities across the world. We match students to the best possible universities where they will excel in their programs. Our comprehensive list of scholarships will guide students and further their possibilities.”

With Azent, Nishar hopes to create a one-stop shop for students looking to study abroad, helping them with identifying the right universities to helping them with scholarship applications, admissions, loans and even student visas.

The company is starting with five centers in Mumbai, Thane, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Bangalore will act as an online experience center where students and their families can take a virtual walk through of international universities to experience the campuses.

The company will help with admissions at over 1200 universities across USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Ireland and Singapore.

"With Aptech, I learned about the education space, with Hexaware and running it for several years, I learned about the technology space. Azent is a combination of two," Nishar said.

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