Unibuddy

Unibuddy is an EdTech company that provides a student engagement platform for higher education institutions.^[1] The platform allows prospective and current students to connect with student ambassadors and alumni from the same or similar courses, providing a peer-to-peer support network enabling prospective students to learn about life at a particular university, including course information, accommodation, and student life. Unibuddy was founded in 2015^[2] by Kimeshan Naidoo^[3] and Diego Fanara^[4] and is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.^[5]

Unibuddy Limited

Company type	Private
Industry	Education technology
Founded	2015 (2015)
Founder	Kimeshan Naidoo, Diego Fanara
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Products	Unibuddy Chat Unibuddy Discover Unibuddy Events Unibuddy Community
Number of employees	<100
Website	unibuddy.com

Products

Unibuddy's main product is Chat,^[6] a student engagement platform that enables higher education institutions to connect prospective and current students with student ambassadors and alumni. The platform includes features such as one-to-one messaging, group chat, and video calling, as well as a range of tools for student ambassadors to manage their interactions with prospective students. In 2022, Unibuddy focussed on its newest Community product to help higher education institutions create belonging and to help students connect with each other over common interests.^[7]

Partnerships

Unibuddy has partnerships with over 600 higher education institutions^[8] around the world, including the University of Cambridge, NYU, Imperial College London and Arizona State University. In addition, Unibuddy has a partnership with UCAS (University and Colleges Admissions Service),^[9] the organisation responsible for managing applications to higher education institutions in the UK. Through this partnership, Unibuddy provides its platform to UCAS to help prospective students connect with current university students and alumni as they make their decisions on where to apply to university.^[10] This partnership allows UCAS to offer a more personalised and comprehensive service to its users, helping them make informed decisions about their education. Unibuddy has similar partnerships with StudyPortal and IDP.^[11]

Funding

Unibuddy has raised a total of $32 million in funding from investors including Stride VC,^[12] Highland VC^[13] and Daniel Borel. In 2019, the company raised a $5 million Series A funding round,^[14] and additional $5 million Series A round in Q1 2021 which was finally followed by a $20 million Series B^[15] funding round later in 2021.^[16]

Impact

Unibuddy has had a significant impact on the world of education and higher learning.^[17] The company's platform allows prospective students to connect with current university students and alumni, this has helped to bridge the gap between prospective and current students, and has made the university application process more transparent and accessible for students around the world.^[18] Additionally, Unibuddy's products have helped universities to engage with prospective students in a more personalised and effective way,^[19] leading to improved recruitment and retention rates.^[20]

Unibuddy has helped over 1.5 million prospective students around the world make better high education decisions to date and future growth goals include partnering with over 1500 higher education institutions and to empower 10 million students to progress on their higher education journey by 2025.^[21]

References

1. "How peer-to-peer marketing can help with student representation". THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
2. "UNIBUDDY LIMITED overview – Find and update company information – GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
3. Burke, Elaine (25 January 2021). "Unibuddy: A scale-up with big goals for human-centred decision-making". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
4. "Unibuddy". Forbes. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
5. "Unibuddy | Speak to our team". unibuddy.com. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
6. "Unibuddy | One-to-one Chat". unibuddy.com. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
7. "Unibuddy releases community product to promote belonging among prospective students". THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
8. "Partners". unibuddy.com. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
9. . Education Technology. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 16 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
10. "Get your students chatting with Unibuddy". UCAS. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
11. "Unibuddy and IDP take a student-first approach to higher education recruitment". THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
12. Butcher, Mike (4 May 2021). "London's Stride VC raised second $138.6M seed fund, hunts for third partner". TechCrunch. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
13. Unibuddy (7 July 2021). "Global Edtech Startup, Unibuddy, Raises $20 Million Series B to Reinvent College Recruitment". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 17 December 2022.
14. "Unibuddy to expand to US with $5m Series A funding". thepienews.com. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
15. "After witnessing 190% growth amid the pandemic, UK-based edtech startup Unibuddy raises €16.9M | Silicon Canals". 8 July 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
16. "Exclusive: London edtech firm Unibuddy raises $20m after pandemic boost". CityAM. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
17. LLC, Intead. "Peer-to-Peer Student Conversations Report Download". info.intead.com. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
18. "A post-pandemic push to diversify international enrolments". ICEF Monitor – Market intelligence for international student recruitment. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
19. "How peer-to-peer marketing can help with student representation". THE Campus Learn, Share, Connect. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
20. "Fisher College generates better leads with Unibuddy – Unibuddy". unibuddy.com. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
21. UCL (23 September 2021). "UCL-backed company helps millions of students choose the best university for them". Innovation & Enterprise. Retrieved 17 December 2022.