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

As visa crackdowns and diplomatic tensions block traditional 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 now expanding its global footprint.

Over the past several months, students across emerging markets have faced growing uncertainty around international college admissions. Shifting visa rules and diplomatic tensions — from the 2023-2024 standoff between India and Canada to new strains in India-U.S. ties over tariffs and immigration policy — have disrupted application timelines and eligibility for thousands. Countries such as Canada and Australia have introduced stricter student visa policies, catching many families off guard. Even long-standing local consultants and study-abroad firms have struggled to adapt. Meanwhile, Leverage — the startup behind the study-abroad platform Leverage Edu — has responded by helping students identify alternative destinations and adjust quickly, keeping their plans on track despite the disruption.

The eight-year-old startup was quick to respond when India-Canada relations soured, helping Indian students reroute to Germany and assisting Canadian universities in recruiting from Nigeria — effectively salvaging student pipelines in both regions. It is now applying that same playbook amid ongoing U.S.-India strains.

While Leverage continues to send students to the U.S., a growing share of that demand now comes from countries like Brazil and Vietnam — where interest in U.S. universities remains strong, founder and CEO Akshay Chaturvedi said in an interview.

That ability to shift quickly across geographies is now central to Leverage’s growth strategy. In the last two months, the startup has expanded into Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam, and Malaysia — emerging markets with growing numbers of students seeking to study abroad but with limited access to structured admissions support. With this push, Leverage now operates in 16 countries where it recruits students, helping them apply to universities across 11 destination countries.

Beyond applications, the startup — headquartered in Noida, a tech hub on the outskirts of New Delhi — is positioning itself as a full-service platform for international education, helping students plan, finance, and manage their journeys. Its tools include a mobile app, an AI-powered course search engine, a university matchmaking tool called UniConnect, and a newly launched SaaS suite for global universities under the brand Univalley.ai.

The startup has also expanded into adjacent categories, with offerings like Leverage MBBS for medical aspirants under Leverage Edu, as well as Fly Finance for education loans, Fly Homes for student housing, and other services under Leverage Careers and Compass.

Leverage now places over 10,000 students annually, up from around 1,500 just a few years ago. Much of that growth has come through organic demand, with 60% of student acquisitions requiring zero customer acquisition cost, according to Chaturvedi.

“Our gap has narrowed with most of our global competitors who were either large listed companies or who had raised some of these mega rounds,” he told TechCrunch.

Financially, Leverage has seen sharp growth — and turned profitable for the first time this year, a rarity in India’s edtech sector. The startup closed fiscal year 2025 with over ₹1.8 billion (around $20 million) in revenue, doubling from the previous year’s ₹900 million (approximately $10 million). Between April and September, the first half of fiscal year 2026, it generated more than ₹2 billion (roughly $23 million), and is on track to end the fiscal year with ₹3.7-₹3.8 billion (about $45 million) in revenue.

On the profitability front, Leverage garnered ₹120-130 million (approximately $1.4-1.5 million) in profit after tax, and expects to surpass ₹250 million ($2.8 million) by the end of fiscal year 2026 — marking a 256% turnaround from a full-year loss of ₹800 million in fiscal year 2025.

The startup generates around 25% of its revenue from its platform businesses, which support students beyond admissions — with value-added services including loans, money remittance, housing, and assistance with securing internships or first jobs. The remaining 75% of revenue comes from its core education business — the student placement and counseling services. Within that, about 20% comes directly from students and 55% from universities in commissions, Chaturvedi told TechCrunch.

India remains Leverage’s largest source market, accounting for 58% of its total student base. Within the country, the startup focuses on states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Punjab — regions that consistently send large numbers of students to universities abroad.

In terms of destinations, the U.K. remains Leverage’s largest market, accounting for 52% of student placements, followed by Germany at 22%. Italy — its fastest-growing market this summer — is also gaining traction.

North America currently represents less than 5% of total placements for Leverage, reflecting tightened visa rules and diplomatic headwinds in recent years. The startup expects this share to grow as its presence expands across Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

India IPO in plans, likely for 2026

With rising revenues and an expanding global footprint, the startup is now weighing a potential IPO in India as early as next year, and investment bankers have already made early pitches, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

Founder and CEO Chaturvedi did not deny the possibility of a public listing, but he said Leverage would decide between pursuing an IPO or raising external capital after hitting the $100 million revenue milestone, which the company expects to reach sometime in 2026.

So far, Leverage has raised less than $50 million in equity. The company operates across 27 countries through over 50 offices and has a headcount of around 800 people.