When Vijay Roy was in Class 7, his father’s illness pushed an already struggling family into deeper financial hardship. With both parents having never completed school and the household living below the poverty line, he was on the verge of dropping out. A scholarship from his school changed the course of his life. Today, as the founder of Scholarlify Vijay is working to ensure that students facing similar circumstances can access the financial support they need to continue their education.
A Journey Shaped By Scholarships
Born and raised in Kolkata, Vijay describes himself as a first-generation learner. Education, he says, was the pathway his parents believed could help the family move out of poverty.
“My parents never completed school. They understood early on that education was the key to escaping poverty,” he told The Logical Indian.
After receiving support from his school until Class 10, Vijay went on to secure government scholarships for Classes 11 and 12. He later completed his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Kolkata as a rank holder.
In 2007, he began his professional career with Larsen & Toubro (L&T), where he spent three years in the corporate sector. After completing his Master’s in Finance, he was offered a position at a major bank. Instead of pursuing that opportunity, he chose to join the Teach For India fellowship, marking the beginning of his work in the social impact sector.
Learning From The Scholarship Ecosystem
Over the years, Vijay gained extensive experience in education and development. Vijay got an opportunity to lead a large scholarship agree gating platform where he took the company from disbursing scholarships worth 20 cr to almost 300 crores in just 2 years
While speaking to The Logical Indian, Vijay explained that many students, especially those in rural and vulnerable communities, remained unaware of the opportunities available to them. He observed that despite the existence of scholarships, access was often limited by information gaps and complex processes.
To address these challenges, he launched Scholarlify around two and a half years ago.
Building Scholarlify
For Roy, the name itself reflects the organisation’s purpose.
“The name stands for ‘Scholarship Simplified’. I have been a scholar my entire life; scholarships were what allowed me to lift my family out of poverty. We want to simplify the process and provide access to those who would otherwise drop out due to financial constraints.”
Scholarlify operates alongside the VVK Education Research Foundation, a nonprofit that manages CSR grants. While Scholarlify serves as the technology platform, the foundation supports programme implementation.
The platform provides end-to-end scholarship management services for organisations including Reliance Foundation, PNB Housing, Tata Capital, Euraka Forbes, 3M India, Zynga Games and many others. According to Roy, it currently has more than 1.5 lakh active student users and has directly managed 25 scholarship programmes.
Reaching Students Who Need Support Most
Scholarlify functions as an online platform where students can create accounts and apply for scholarships. Programmes are available for students from Class 1 onwards.
The organisation primarily focuses on students whose annual family income is below ₹2.5 lakh. It also prioritises support for children from single-parent families, orphaned students and persons with disabilities.
Vijay shared that more than 70 per cent of the students supported through the platform are girls from low-income backgrounds. Over the past two years, Scholarlify has supported 25,000 students and facilitated access to scholarship funds worth ₹75 crore.
Addressing Barriers Beyond Funding
According to Roy, awareness remains the biggest challenge in scholarship access.
“The primary barrier is awareness. Many students simply don’t know these opportunities exist.”
He also highlighted language barriers, documentation requirements and the digital divide as major obstacles. To bridge these gaps, Scholarlify has established helplines and WhatsApp bots while also conducting on-ground outreach.
The organisation recently completed 40 rural camps across locations including Bihar, Assam and rural Maharashtra, helping students understand eligibility requirements and complete applications.
Personal Risks And Difficult Choices
Vijay’s transition into the social sector was not without resistance. Convincing his family to support his decision to leave a stable corporate career proved challenging.
“They wanted me to maintain a stable, high-paying corporate job.”
The decision to join Teach For India at a significantly lower salary and later leave a secure leadership position to build a new venture without initial funding created uncertainty both professionally and personally.
In conversation with The Logical Indian, Vijay reflected on the importance of perseverance and family support while navigating those decisions.
Advice For Aspiring Social Entrepreneurs
Drawing from his own experience, Vijay believes successful social ventures must be rooted in a clear understanding of sectoral gaps.
“You must understand the gaps in the sector and ensure your program has a market fit.”
He emphasised the importance of innovation, a strong unique value proposition and an experienced founding team. For Scholarlify, that differentiation came from creating technology solutions that were more efficient and cost-effective than existing alternatives.
Looking Ahead
Scholarlify’s future plans focus on expanding support for underserved groups. The organisation is developing programmes for tribal girls and has launched a scholarship initiative for children of construction workers in partnership with PNB Housing.
It is also increasing its focus on girls pursuing STEM education and students enrolled in diploma and polytechnic courses. In 2026-27 Scholarlify is partnering with many new patterns to support PwDs, Athletes and Transgenders.
For Vijay, the mission remains deeply connected to his own journey. The scholarship that once kept him in school has evolved into a platform that helps thousands of students continue theirs.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Vijay Roy’s journey highlights how financial barriers continue to prevent many students from accessing and completing their education, despite the availability of scholarship programmes. While scholarships can play a crucial role in supporting students from low-income families, awareness gaps, documentation challenges, language barriers, and the digital divide often limit access to these opportunities.
Through Scholarlify, Vijay has sought to address these challenges by simplifying the scholarship application process and connecting underserved students with available funding support. His work also underscores the importance of combining technology with on-ground outreach to reach students in rural and vulnerable communities.
As India continues its efforts to improve educational access and equity, could making scholarship opportunities more visible and accessible help ensure that financial hardship does not stand in the way of a student’s aspirations?
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