HomeFundingSpanish startup Erasmus Play scores €200k to make international student housing stress-free

Spanish startup Erasmus Play scores €200k to make international student housing stress-free

Studying abroad is one of the highlights of a student’s career. It brings the opportunity for young people to see the world, experience a new culture, and get an international perspective. It’s become a key part of many degree programmes and the Erasmus programme is incredibly popular year after year.

But, there is always one catch. Finding accommodation. Every year, many students make the trip abroad only to find themselves struggling to find suitable, reliable and affordable housing. 

Spanish startup, Erasmus Play, wants to fix this and has developed a housing search engine specifically for students. The team, who were one of the finalists in our pitch competition this year, recently closed an investment round of €200k. Funding for the Zaragoza-based company was led by Didi Value Partners and has had the support of investors such as Daniel Giménez (co-founder of Trovit, Niumba, among others), Gerard Olivé (Wallapop, Glovo, Prontopiso, etc.), Marc Bigas (Skitude), Enrique Domínguez (Trovit and Parkingdoor) and other Business Angels. Toubkal Partners, an investment fund for technology companies in Spain, has also participated in this round.

Founded in 2020 by David Casanova Ronco (CEO), Manuel Herrero Gajón (CTO) and Smith Donkor (COO), the startup is taking away the stress of studying abroad. The idea came about when all three of the founders themselves found physical, social and linguistic barriers that made it difficult to find accommodation as international students. The platform comprises an analysis and comparison system that breaks down hurdles in finding student accommodation broad. 

Smith Donkor, COO and co-founder of Erasmus Play states: “I didn’t have the opportunity to go to Paris on Erasmus because there was no affordable accommodation I could find and almost felt for a fraudulent housing ad.  Our mission is to take this obstacle off the plate of international students”

This investment will be dedicated to improving the technology of the platform in order to optimize user experience, it will furthermore strengthen relationships with accommodation providers, which are very diversified geographically. The fresh funding makes it possible to bolster the position of Erasmus Play in European countries such as Spain, Italy, France and Germany, alongside increasing the verified accommodation offer in more than 500 cities in which the housing search engine currently has a presence.

Patricia Allen
Patricia Allen
is the Head of Content at EU-Startups. With a background in politics, Patricia has a real passion for how shared ideas across communities and cultures can bring new initiatives and innovations for the future. She spends her time bringing you the latest news and updates of startups across Europe, and curating our social media.
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