India’s educational aspirations have broken all historical records. A generation ago, studying abroad was an opportunity reserved for a select few. Today, more than a million Indian students are enrolled in campuses worldwide. This massive surge positions India as one of the world’s largest sources of globally mobile learners.
Behind that shift is not just policy and demographics, but also a new kind of NRI entrepreneur. These leaders have quietly built the infrastructure that carries Indian aspirations across borders. Among them, Sanjay Laul, Founder of Laul Global and its AI-powered marketplace MSM Unify, stands out as a global NRI figure who has made India central to the modern education map.
From a single overseas education consultancy in India in 2005, Laul, an Indian-born, Canada-based entrepreneur, has built a bootstrapped platform that today connects Indian and international students to colleges and universities across Canada, the US, the UK, Europe, and other destinations. In the process, he has helped turn India from “just another source market” into a hub that global institutions actively design strategy around.
From a small Indian office to a 21-country network
Laul’s story starts far from global awards stages and international conferences. In 2005, he set up an overseas education consultancy in India focused on international student recruitment and English language training, long before “edtech” or “student mobility” had the buzz they do today.
Working case by case with Indian students and institutions abroad, he saw firsthand how risky the process could be.
The turning point came at a dinner meeting in New Delhi with Northern Lights College (NLC) in British Columbia province, where Laul pitched a different model: MSM would act as NLC’s country office in India, handling promotion, agent management, and student support under one banner. NLC signed on, followed soon after by Selkirk College and Yukon College (now Yukon University), effectively launching a new public–private partnership model in international education.
Formalised in 2016 as M Square Business Solutions Inc. (MSM), headquartered in Kelowna, the venture scaled quickly. MSM now operates in 21 countries, works with thousands of agents, and has generated an estimated USD 627.77 million in tuition for partner institutions from 2016-2020.
A digital bridge with India at the center
Laul built MSM Unify, a digital marketplace designed to “unify” students, institutions, agents, and service providers on one platform. The AI-driven platform has successfully simplified the application process for students.
With a global footprint and significant expansion planned in India, MSM Unify has announced a USD 20 million investment to build out its operations in the country.
For students and families, this means their first touchpoint is no longer an isolated neighbourhood office but part of a structured ecosystem tied directly to colleges and universities abroad. For institutions, it means a single, accountable partner managing vast, complex markets like India with data, governance, and transparency.
Awards that send a signal to the world
Laul’s model has earned global recognition. In 2024, MSM was named the winner of the EdTechX Award in the Higher Education category, a London-based competition that highlights some of the world’s most innovative and impactful edtech companies.
Earlier, MSM was shortlisted as a finalist for the PIEoneer of the Year Award by sector publication The PIE News for its Global Marketing Office (GMO) model.
Today, MSM Unify describes itself as an “award-winning, all-in-one global education marketplace,” but for Laul and his teams, the awards are less about branding and more about validation: proof that an NRI-led, India-rooted idea can be benchmark-setting, not just follow global trends.
An NRI leader shaping India’s soft power
Every student who crosses borders through MSM’s ecosystem carries Indian culture, ambition and work ethic into classrooms and workplaces worldwide. By making it easier and more transparent for Indian students to access quality global education, Laul is effectively scaling up India’s soft power. The thousands of Indian alumni he has helped send abroad become bridges of trade, innovation, and cultural understanding.
At the same time, Laul’s role in helping foreign universities explore deeper partnerships and potential campuses in India shows the traffic is no longer one-way. India is increasingly positioned as a destination, not merely a departure point.
A bridge between home and the world
Laul now oversees teams of hundreds working across 21 countries to connect students and institutions across continents.
But behind the titles is a simple idea. Laul is an NRI entrepreneur using his vantage point abroad to make sure that the next generation of Indian students can dream bigger, choose better, and move faster.
