SUMMARY
upGrad plans to open 100 counselling touch-points and learning centres across the country over the next 12 months, with a special focus on non-metros and smaller towns
The centres will serve as hubs for career counselling and will have access to all of upGrad’s courses and programmes in one place, the upskilling unicorn said
upGrad’s net loss surged 76% to INR 1,141.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 648.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year
Mumbai-based edtech unicorn upGrad on Tuesday (February 6) said it will be opening 100 offline counselling touch-points and learning centres across the country over the next 12 months to reach potential customers and augment its growth.
The startup said it has allocated a corpus of INR 100 Cr to open these learning centres, with a special focus on non-metros and smaller towns.
The centres will serve as hubs for career counselling and will have access to all of upGrad’s courses and programmes in one place, the upskilling startup said in a statement.
upGrad said it has already opened its first two learning centres in Mumbai and Delhi, and the first two learning centres in Indore and Pune.
“Initial reactions have been strong as the first 30 days have clocked 500+ career counselling. The goal is for the 100 centres to counsel over half a million on their career moves and the learning centres to see enrollments of over 10,000 learners,” the statement said.
upGrad currently claims to have an offline presence via 50 franchises and 150 channel partners.
Commenting on the development, upGrad cofounder and MD Mayank Kumar said, “Our centres are designed to enhance and ensure every learner who walks in, either existing or potential resonates with the brand DNA and mission to further support them in fast-tracking their decision-making process. In the competitive era we operate in, timely upskilling will act as a collaborative nation-building force…”
Founded in 2015 by Kumar, Ronnie Screwvala, and Phalgun Kompalli, upGrad offers higher education courses and skilling programmes in collaboration with colleges and universities.
The startup has raised over $600 Mn to date and counts marquee investors such as Temasek, International Finance Corporation, and IIFL among its backers. It entered the coveted unicorn club in August 2021 after raising $185 Mn at a valuation of $1.2 Bn.
In June last year, the startup’s valuation catapulted to $2.2 Bn after it raised $210 Mn in a round led by ETS Global.
upGrad’s net loss surged 76% to INR 1,141.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 648.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The startup’s bottom line took a hit due to a goodwill writedown of INR 410 Cr despite its operating revenue crossing the INR 1,000 Cr mark for the first time since inception.
The latest development comes at a time when the Indian edtech sector is amongst the hardest hit by the ongoing funding winter. While BYJU’S, once the poster boy of the edtech ecosystem, is going through a crisis, other startups have also not remained unaffected by the funding winter.
From layoffs to cost-cutting exercises, the Indian edtech startups have been taking a number of measures to survive through the funding winter. Besides, many edtech startups also shut operations amid the funding crunch.
