Senior Recruitment Specialist

On the commercial side, AdalFi has appointed Emre Unlusoy as Head of Sales for MEA.

EduFi, a fintech startup that enables financially strapped students to secure loans for their education, has raised $6.1 million in a pre-seed round led by Zayn VC with participation from Palm Drive Capital, Deem Ventures, Q Business and angel investors.The Singapore-based startup has launched an artificial intelligence-powered study now, pay later (SNPL) lending platform and its mobile app in Pakistan, a country that does not have student loan products as a category; instead, users take personal loans with high interest and lengthy process, Aleena Nadeem, founder and CEO of EduFi, told TechCrunch.EduFi wants to address the country’s two issues — high poverty levels and low literacy rates — via its fintech platform. In Pakistan, about 40% of students attend private schools due to public schools’ poor quality, resulting in spending more than $14 billion on their education every year. Moreover, over 50% of the adult population in Pakistan does not have access to financial services such as bank accounts and insurance.Nadeem, an MIT graduate who previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Ventura Capital, had seen first-hand many children struggle with financial obstacles to get a quality education while working at Progressive Education Network (PEN) in Pakistan. PEN is a nonprofit organization that gives free and quality education to children who can’t afford it.“Many children in Pakistan make it to high school, but there is a sharp drop in those who are able to achieve a higher college education,” Nadeem said. “This drop is where EduFi is trying to inject capital into the gap between high school graduation and first-year university admission.”The two-year-old company has already had partnerships with 15 universities, allowing the app to be available to about 200,000 students who must pay their fees for undergrad, Master’s and PhD across Pakistan.When a student (or a parent) applies for loans via the app, EduFi requires the applicant’s (student or parent) financial status. For example, the previous 12 months’ bank statements or a source of income that can support their loan repayments, such as a salaried job, a small business, or freelance work