upGrad earmarks Rs 100 Cr for 100 offline counselling and learning centres
The Mumbai-based edtech company plans to extend its reach to non-metropolitan areas and smaller towns and accelerate operations over the next 12 months.
Edtech firm plans to open 100 offline connect and counselling touchpoints and learning centres throughout India.
To support this expansion, the Mumbai-based company has earmarked an initial fund of Rs 100 crore. It plans to extend its reach to non-metropolitan areas and smaller towns and accelerate operations over the next 12 months.
The Ronnie Screwvala-led firm has inaugurated its first two counselling centres in Mumbai and Delhi and its first two learning centres in Indore and Pune.
A month since the inauguration of these centres, upGrad said it conducted more than 500 career counselling sessions.
The objective, through the 100 centres, is to guide over half a million individuals on their career decisions, said the company. It aims to enrol over 10,000 learners in the learning centres, it added.
“We have identified the high-demand geographic pockets that will allow talents beyond metros to experience the sincere hand-holding they need in their lifelong learning journey,” said Mayank Kumar, Co-founder and Managing Director of upGrad.
“India is very uniquely placed to dominate the global talent markets and, therefore, in the current FY, we are integrating our offerings carefully to empower every age group with the right career guidance and high-quality learning suite and training encompassing both, long and short format courses," he added.
The centres will serve as hubs for career counselling for those looking to upskill and reskill themselves. They will have access to all of upGrad’s courses and programmes in one place, said the company.
upGrad has a physical presence through more than 50 franchises and 150 channel partners.
Founded in 2015 by Screwvala, Kumar, and Phalgun Kompalli, upGrad operates across educational sectors, encompassing test preparation, study abroad programmes, undergraduate degrees, and courses in collaboration with over 300 university partners.
Last month, upGrad appointed CP Gurnani, former Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Tech Mahindra, as an independent non-executive director to its board.
In FY23, upGrad recorded a revenue of Rs 1,194 crore, up 96% from Rs 608 crore in the the previous financial year. The adjusted EBITDA loss amounted to Rs 558 crore, as opposed to Rs 572 crore in the year prior.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti
