Krystle Obasi, a young dynamic female is the Co-founder of StudySearch; an easy and affordable platform for Nigerians to apply to study in the UK. Here, all the relevant information required to make a successful application is available for prospective students, their parents and sponsors on one single platform. StudySear.ch matches prospective applicants with universities and courses based on their budget, field of interest and other key factors. Krystle has lived and studied in both Nigeria and the U.K. She is passionate about using technology and digital media to ensure people worldwide have access to skills and opportunities to improve their future outlook. In 2012 Krystle was selected as a Global Change-maker for the British Council and previously worked with the Labor party using digital technology to optimize communication between the party and local constituents. We reached out to her to discuss this new start-up, below is the interview
Tell us about yourself as a female in Technology and what prompted you to start StudySear.ch?
Well, there are plenty of women using technology to disrupt different industries, so I don’t really see myself as unique in that sense.
A close friend had a bad experience with applying to study in the UK. He applied through an agent, paid for his first years tuition and all the other costs associated with his application, within four weeks of starting the course he realised it was not accredited by a reputable body within his industry. StudySearch was prompted when we found this was not a unique issue and many Nigerians had a similar experience applying to study abroad.
When was the company founded, who are the key founders, stakeholders, investors?
Studysear.ch was founded in 2013 by me and Frederik Obasi. We raised our seed round from the Savannah Fund.
What challenge is StudySear.ch solving?
For a Nigerian applicant Information on studying abroad, is fragmented and distributed across many channels, this makes the process of selecting universities and applying, unclear, tedious and complicated. There is also the issue of, lack of transparency, misinformation and affordability.
Who is your target audience?
Our target audience is any Nigerian, who wants to study an undergraduate or postgraduate course at a UK university
How do they gain access ?
It’s incredibly easy, just go to www.studysear.ch
Is it mobile accessible?
Yes. We have an optimised mobile version as we know many Nigerians access the web via their smart phones.
How are you different from your competitors?
Studysear.ch was created specifically for the Nigerian applicant, their parents and sponsors. Other players in this space provide general guidance and information for all applicants but often the requirements for Nigerian applicants differ from those applying from other parts of the world with a different education system and infrastructure.
Our content is localised, we provide the hands on support for applicants and their families this is something that our competitors are unable to provide due to the fact that they are based outside of Nigeria. We provide 24/7 online support as we know many of our potential audience access the internet at times that are not working hours, but still require support.
Being a startup we are able to and we do listen to our users, taking on board their recommendations, and delivering
them a world class experience.
What can we expect from StudySear.ch in the near future?
We are focusing on delivering a world class service both for applicants and institutions. In the near future applicants can expect more top notch courses and a broader selection of institutions from around the world to choose from. We are working with some great organisations to really streamline both the international application and recruitment process.
Are you currently looking for partnerships, investors and have you gotten any before now?
We are always open to working with organisations who share our vision to help Nigerians access a world class education. Our current partnerships are with companies, institutions and people that know the importance technology plays in the educational services space in an emerging market and want to be a part of that. We work on partnerships where there are clear synergies between StudySearch and the partner. The same goes for investors.
In three words what has been your watchwords in business?
Focus Focus Focus