Ankit Mehra, originally from Nathnagar, Bhagalpur, Bihar, comes from a family with a long history in silk trading. After completing his BTech at IIT Kanpur, he secured a well-paying job in the United States. However, a twist of fate led him to leave his American career behind and return to India. There, he founded GyanDhan (GyanDhan Financial Services Pvt Ltd), a startup dedicated to helping students secure education loans for studying abroad. Today, his venture supports thousands of students in pursuing their dreams of studying overseas.

Ankit Mehra's background

Ankit Mehra completed his class 10 at St Joseph's School in Bhagalpur. Following this, his family sent him to Delhi for further education. He completed his class 12 at DPS RK Puram in Delhi and went on to crack the JEE exam, securing a place at IIT Kanpur. There, he earned a BTech degree in Mechanical Engineering.

After graduating from IIT, Ankit was selected for a position at Capital One Financial Corporation in the US, where he received an attractive salary package. However, due to the visa lottery system, he was required to work remotely from India for the first year. It wasn’t until 2010 that he was finally able to move to the US and begin his role in person.

Ankit Mehra's corporate journey

While working at Capital One, Ankit realised the immense potential in both the higher education and finance sectors. Motivated by this insight, he decided to pursue an MBA at IESE Business School in Spain in 2013. During his studies, he met Priyanka Jain, also from India, who later became his wife. After completing his MBA, Ankit worked as a Summer Associate at Credit Suisse, a Swiss investment bank. It was during this time that he recognised the significant gaps in the student financing sector, which ultimately inspired him to venture into it.

GyanDhan's success

In 2015, as the Modi government began promoting initiatives like "Startup India" and "Digital India," Ankit recognised that a conducive environment for startups was emerging in India. This inspired his decision to return to the country, where, alongside his friends, he laid the foundation for the GyanDhan startup. GyanDhan focuses on helping students secure education loans, making higher education more accessible to aspiring scholars.

In 2021, GyanDhan received its Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This milestone allowed GyanDhan to not only facilitate loans from other banks but also to directly lend to students. To date, over 4,500 students have secured loans through GyanDhan to pursue their education abroad. As a result, the startup has grown to become one of India's leading education financing platforms.