JADE, a platform that helps higher education institutions manage their international student recruitment agents, has raised £450 thousand in funding led by GC Angels, alongside co-investor Jenson Ventures. The investment will support product development, commercial growth and team expansion.
JADE develops software to help higher education institutions manage their relationships with international student recruitment agents. The platform brings agent management processes into one place, including training and certification, resource management, contracts, analytics and commission management. JADE is also developing capabilities for agent onboarding, due diligence and compliance, to help institutions strengthen oversight of their international recruitment networks. The issue has become increasingly significant as institutions face greater scrutiny over international student recruitment and the processes used to oversee their agent networks.
Founded in 2025 and based in Manchester, JADE has established relationships with institutions including the Royal College of Art and was a finalist in The PIEoneer Awards 2026. Its platform is used by institutions across the UK, Ireland, Malta, France, Spain, the US and Canada, with over 600 education agents from 120 countries on it. Since securing the funding, JADE has continued developing the platform in response to feedback from institutions and has organised its first International Recruitment Leadership Forum in Ireland, bringing together representatives from universities across the country.
Kamila Malavia and Dhaval Malavia founded JADE. Kamila Malavia developed the idea from her experience working in international higher education and student recruitment, and Dhaval Malavia brings technology expertise. JADE's route to investment began through GC Angels' Venture Forward accelerator programme, where the business took part in the second cohort. JADE has also appointed Adam Pettit as Commercial Director. He has around 15 years of international higher education experience and is supporting the expansion into key international markets.
Having spent almost two decades in international higher education and student recruitment, I saw how difficult it was for institutions to manage agent relationships using fragmented systems. Dhaval and I founded JADE because we believed universities needed a dedicated technology platform to bring these processes together and strengthen oversight of their international recruitment networks.
The Venture Forward programme fundamentally changed how we approached fundraising and helped us understand our business from an investor’s perspective. The guidance from Ranvir and the wider GC Angels team was invaluable. This investment is an important milestone for us. It is enabling us to develop the platform, strengthen our team and accelerate our international growth. Our ambition is to establish JADE as the operating system for higher education institutions around the world.
JADE 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. The investment will help the business develop its product, strengthen its commercial capabilities and build on its international presence.
