Education start-up iSTAR receives new investment round

Education and skill development start-up iSTAR has received a new round of investment from Unitus Seed Fund. Unitus Seed Fund has been a part of iSTAR’s family since April 2013 when they raised their first round of seed funding.

iSTAR deals with increasing the chances of university students to find employment after graduation from college. The company claims that 85% of students do not get employed in their chosen industry due to lack of training or lack of relevant positions.

By 2020, India is expected to be home to around 40 million new jobs. As of 2012, around 37% million graduates are lying unemployed due to lack of vocational training. Industry specific skills are always on the rise and students are being inhibited from getting practical, industry relevant training due to an academically oriented education sector.

Surga Thilakan, co-founder of iSTAR believes in the presence of countless opportunities that can give vital services like skill development since state governments enable a comfortable environment for similar businesses to expand.

iSTAR initially began in 15 colleges across Karnataka serving to 1,200 students with a team of 15 trainers. In just two years, the team was expanded to 150 trainers that are functioning in three states who are training over 17,000 students.
With the acquired funding, iSTAR is planning to expand to more states and tie up with the department of higher education in Kerala.

(With inputs from TechInAsia)