Seven-figure investment for Edinburgh student engagement innovator

An Edinburgh student engagement platform has netted a £1.8 million investment as it looks to expand in North America.

The capital business was set up in 2012 by Matt Lanham. Picture: Contributed

GeckoLabs plans to more than double the size of its team and expand its operations in North America thanks to the funding injection from Mercia Fund Managers, the Scottish Investment Bank’s Co-Investment Fund and existing angel investors.

The latest deal brings the total raised by the company to £3m. Gecko’s student engagement platform, GeckoEngage, allows universities to capture, manage and follow up with prospective students. As well as several institutions in the UK, the firm has almost 30 clients in the US and Canada.

Established in 2012 by Matt Lanham, who had previously run a digital agency, Gecko now has a 27-strong team in Edinburgh.

Lanham said: “With the launch of our chatbot earlier this year, we’ve seen a real upsurge in interest from both existing users and from higher education institutions we don’t yet work with. This investment will help us to capitalise on that interest and innovate further in terms of product development.”

Marcus Henderson, investment manager at Mercia, added: “Gecko has a proven product with a loyal customer base and is now entering a critical phase in which it has the opportunity to scale the business in the North American market.”