henQ Invests and the two other investors will take a minority stake in the company, and HousingAnywhere.com will use the investment to increase its international partnerships, optimise the platform for its users, and further developing the ways that students can safely and easily rent out their rooms to each other.
Niels van Deuren graduated from RSM’s BSc International Business Administration in 2009 and from the RSM MSc International Management/CEMS in 2012; he graduated cum laude from both programmes. Niels van Deuren had the idea for the company in 2008 when he was looking for a room for himself in Singapore during his bachelor studies and considered the idea again during his master studies at the Nova School of Business and Economics in Portugal.
“We are currently operating globally with over a hundred student ambassadors who help other students with their international adventures. This investment, together with the know-how of my team and the investors, will accelerate this success,” he said. “This will enable us to help ever more international students find a room.”
According to HousingAnywhere.com, the student market is ‘hot’. It quotes figures from the European Union, which recently set aside €15 billion for the Erasmus+ programme – it includes student mobility as one of its goals; a fifth of European students should have at least some of their education in another country by 2020. As a result more universities require students to gain academic credits in other countries. International experience is a distinct advantage in an increasingly globalised and innovative world.
About HousingAnywhere.com
Students can post their rooms for rent on HousingAnywhere.com while simultaneously finding a room in the city in which they will be studying. It’s a way for students not to pay double rent during their studies in another country. Housinganywhere.com has partnered with universities around the world and is active in 155 cities, including Rotterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, Los Angeles and Sao Paulo.
