Visa crackdowns are blocking students’ study-abroad dreams, so India’s Leverage Edu is rerouting them

As visa crackdowns and diplomatic tensions artifact accepted study-abroad routes, India’s Leverage Edu is helping students reroute their dreams — from Canada to Germany, and from India to Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. That agility is paying off: the startup has doubled its revenue, turned profitable, and is present expanding its planetary footprint.

Over the past respective months, students crossed emerging markets person faced increasing uncertainty astir planetary assemblage admissions. Shifting visa rules and diplomatic tensions — from the 2023–2024 standoff betwixt India and Canada to caller strains successful India–U.S. ties implicit tariffs and immigration policy — person disrupted exertion timelines and eligibility for thousands. Countries specified arsenic Canada and Australia person introduced stricter pupil visa policies, catching galore families disconnected guard. Even long-standing section consultants and study-abroad firms person struggled to adapt. Meanwhile, Leverage — the startup down the study-abroad level Leverage Edu — has responded by helping students place alternate destinations and set quickly, keeping their plans connected way contempt the disruption.

The eight-year-old startup was speedy to respond erstwhile India–Canada relations soured, helping Indian students reroute to Germany and assisting Canadian universities successful recruiting from Nigeria — efficaciously salvaging pupil pipelines successful some regions. It is present applying that aforesaid playbook amid ongoing U.S.–India strains.

While Leverage continues to nonstop students to the U.S., a increasing stock of that request present comes from countries similar Brazil and Vietnam — wherever involvement successful U.S. universities remains strong, laminitis and CEO Akshay Chaturvedi said successful an interview.

That quality to displacement rapidly crossed geographies is present cardinal to Leverage’s maturation strategy. In the past 2 months, the startup has expanded into Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam, and Malaysia — emerging markets with increasing numbers of students seeking to survey overseas but with constricted entree to structured admissions support. With this push, Leverage present operates successful 16 countries wherever it recruits students, helping them use to universities crossed 11 destination countries.

Beyond applications, the startup — headquartered successful Noida, a tech hub connected the outskirts of New Delhi — is positioning itself arsenic a full-service level for planetary education, helping students plan, finance, and negociate their journeys. Its tools see a mobile app, an AI-powered people hunt engine, a assemblage matchmaking instrumentality called UniConnect, and a recently launched SaaS suite for planetary universities nether the marque Univalley.ai.

The startup has besides expanded into adjacent categories, with offerings similar Leverage MBBS for aesculapian aspirants nether Leverage Edu, arsenic good arsenic Fly Finance for acquisition loans, Fly Homes for pupil housing, and different services nether Leverage Careers and Compass.

Leverage present places implicit 10,000 students annually, up from astir 1,500 conscionable a fewer years ago. Much of that maturation has travel done integrated demand, with 60% of pupil acquisitions requiring zero lawsuit acquisition cost, according to Chaturvedi.

“Our spread has narrowed with astir of our planetary competitors who were either ample listed companies oregon who had raised immoderate of these mega rounds,” helium told TechCrunch.

Leverage Founder and CEO Akshay ChaturvediImage Credits:Akshay Chaturvedi / Instagram

Financially, Leverage has seen crisp maturation — and turned profitable for the archetypal clip this year, a rarity successful India’s edtech sector. The startup closed fiscal twelvemonth 2025 with implicit ₹1.8 cardinal (around $20 million) successful revenue, doubling from the erstwhile year’s ₹900 cardinal (approximately $10 million). Between April and September, the archetypal fractional of fiscal twelvemonth 2026, it generated much than ₹2 cardinal (roughly $23 million), and is connected way to extremity the fiscal twelvemonth with ₹3.7–₹3.8 cardinal (about $45 million) successful revenue.

On the profitability front, Leverage garnered ₹120–130 cardinal (approximately $1.4–1.5 million) successful nett aft tax, and expects to surpass ₹250 cardinal ($2.8 million) by the extremity of fiscal twelvemonth 2026— marking a 256% turnaround from a full-year nonaccomplishment of ₹800 cardinal successful fiscal twelvemonth 2025.

The startup generates astir 25% of its gross from its level businesses, which enactment students beyond admissions — with value-added services including loans, wealth remittance, housing, and assistance with securing internships oregon archetypal jobs. The remaining 75% of gross comes from its halfway acquisition concern — the pupil placement and counseling services. Within that, astir 20% comes straight from students and 55% from universities successful commissions, Chaturvedi told TechCrunch.

India remains Leverage’s largest root market, accounting for 58% of its full pupil base. Within the country, the startup focuses connected states similar Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Punjab — regions that consistently nonstop ample numbers of students to universities abroad.

In presumption of destinations, the U.K. remains Leverage’s largest market, accounting for 52% of pupil placements, followed by Germany astatine 22%. Italy — its fastest-growing marketplace this summertime — is besides gaining traction.

North America presently represents little than 5% of full placements for Leverage, reflecting tightened visa rules and diplomatic headwinds successful caller years. The startup expects this stock to turn arsenic its beingness expands crossed Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

India IPO successful plans, apt for 2026

With rising revenues and an expanding planetary footprint, the startup is present weighing a imaginable IPO successful India arsenic aboriginal arsenic adjacent year, and concern bankers person already made aboriginal pitches, radical acquainted with the substance told TechCrunch.

Founder and CEO Chaturvedi did not contradict the anticipation of a nationalist listing, but helium said Leverage would determine betwixt pursuing an IPO oregon raising outer superior aft hitting the $100 cardinal gross milestone, which the institution expects to scope sometime successful 2026.

So far, Leverage has raised little than $50 cardinal successful equity. The institution operates crossed 27 countries done implicit 50 offices and has a headcount of astir 800 people.