'We Can Build A Real Unicorn Out Of Africa, Creating Impact'

Manish Sardana, the Nairobi-based co-founder of edtech startup Craydel, wants to democratize access to higher education in Africa and eradicate the study-abroad agent market.

- Renuka Methil

Manish Sardana is in the midst of a busy day, opening yet another office, a bigger one, in Nairobi’s upscale Westlands area when we catch up for a conversation on Craydel, the edtech startup he successfully co-founded in Kenya in 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Right now, we have five offices – three in Nigeria and two in Kenya – and about 70-odd employees and we are growing rapidly,” the platform’s 43-year-old CEO says about what was once “just an idea in his head”.

This was in August last year. Five months on, Craydel has added more than 20 team-members and boasts 400-plus direct partnerships with universities.

The company is hiring rapidly and on its way to profitability this year, Sardana says. On the cards: expansion to more markets such as Ghana, Uganda and South Africa. The investors are keen and Sardana is optimistic.

“When you are building something that has a real vision trying to solve a real problem, you get people gravitating towards you,” says Sardana of his platform that dispels misinformation and biases for students and guides decisions on college and course selection. Craydel’s tech infrastructure allows African learners to receive scientific career guidance, check courses they are eligible to apply to, filter options as per preferences, receive recommendations on their bestfit universities, and then apply to multiple universities – in a matter of minutes.

“Very soon, our platform will [also] empower students to apply for study visas, book student accommodation and access student finance,” he says when we connect in January. “We are betting on our technology to eradicate the study-abroad agent market, just like technology disrupted the travel agent market.”