ErudiFi, which provides accessible and affordable financing options for students in Southeast Asia, has raised $5 million in Series A investment co-led by Monk’s Hill Ventures and Qualgro.

The Singapore-headquartered startup will use the capital to make key hires across product and engineering, marketing and operations, business development, and data functions. It also has plans to scale its services, grow its footprint in its existing markets (Indonesia and the Philippines), and invest more in product innovation.

Founded in 2017, ErudiFi is a tech-enabled education financing company in Southeast Asia. The startup claims to have onboarded over 50 leading universities and vocational schools in Indonesia and the Philippines, including President University, UNTAR, IT PLN, Wall Street English, PHINMA Education, Far Eastern University, Adamson University, and Mapua University.

“Access to affordable tertiary education remains a huge pain point in Southeast Asia where the cost is nearly double than the average GDP per capita. ErudiFi is tackling an underserved market that is plagued with high-interest rates by traditional financial institutions and limited reach from peer-to-peer lending companies,” said Peng T. Ong, cofounder and Managing Partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures.