Manchester-based EdTech startup JadeApp has secured £450k in investment.
The round was led by GC Angels alongside co-investor Jenson Ventures and will support expansion into international markets.
JadeApp was founded in 2025 by Kamila and Dhaval Malavia and develops software to help higher education institutions manage their relationships with international student recruitment agents.
The idea emerged from Kamila Malavia’s experience in international higher education and student recruitment, where she saw how important agents were in connecting prospective students with universities, and how difficult institutions could find it to manage those relationships.
JadeApp brings agent management processes into one system, covering onboarding, identity verification, compliance, contracts, training and commission tracking.
The company said the issue has become increasingly significant as institutions face greater scrutiny over international student recruitment and the processes used to oversee their agent networks.
JadeApp has established relationships with institutions including the Royal College of Art and Loughborough University.
Its platform is being used by institutions across the UK, Ireland, Spain, the US and Canada, with around 600 agents using the system.
JadeApp’s route to investment began through GC Angels’ Venture Forward accelerator programme, in which the business took part in the second cohort.
The programme helped the founders develop their understanding of fundraising, assess their business from an investor’s perspective and prepare for the investment process.
EdTech 50 – UK’s most innovative education tech creators for 2026
Since securing the funding, the company has continued developing its platform in response to feedback from institutions and building its operational and commercial capabilities.
JadeApp expects to welcome a new commercial director in November to help develop partnerships and support its international activities.
Kamila Malavia said: “Having spent more than two decades in international higher education and student recruitment, I saw how difficult it was for institutions to manage agent relationships using fragmented systems. We identified a gap for a solution built around the specific needs of universities and colleges.
“The investment now gives us the capacity to develop the product, strengthen our commercial operations and respond to a challenge we saw first-hand in the sector.”
Ranvir Singh, investment manager at GC Angels, said: “JadeApp is addressing a practical challenge for higher education institutions, particularly as expectations around recruitment agent oversight and compliance increase.
“Having supported Kamila and Dhaval through Venture Forward, it’s encouraging to see their progress and the programme’s ability to get ambitious founders investor-ready.”
GC Angels describes itself as a professional service driven by experienced equity specialists, with over 400 associate angels, institutional capital partners and in-house co-funds.
It said it supports SMEs to raise early-stage, scale-up and growth risk capital ranging from £25k – £250k, and is anchored in Greater Manchester.