upGrad, Asia’s largest higher edtech company announces the 100% acquisition of corporate training solutions leader Centum Learning (Centum) in a share swap deal. With this transaction, Bharti Enterprises Limited and its affiliates (together “BEL”) are joining upGrad’s cap table. Centum is expected to clock a revenue of ~US$21m (INR 170 crores) in FY23.
What is the market offering of Centum Learning?
Headquartered in New Delhi, Centum Learning was formed in 2007 and currently offers impact-based training to corporates as well as vocational, and educational training to schools and college learners to make them either self-employed or meaningfully employed.
Through its Centum 5D™ training methodology and use of its Learning eXperience Platform (LXP)- Centum LearnPro®, Centum has been enabling 360-degree learning solutions right from entry-level professionals to mid-level leaders with measurable business impacts.
With over 3000 L&D specialists, Centum Learning has trained over 2 million people while also impacting 400+ corporates across India & Africa. Centum’s Africa operations boast a team size of 50+ local L&D professionals who are empowering millions with high-quality learning outcomes through customized vernacular training, content & digital learning platform.
With a total strength of over 2000 employees, Centum’s business will continue to operate independently under the leadership guidance of Sanjay Bahl, Managing Director, and CEO.
What were the executives’ thoughts on the acquisition?
Commenting on the development, Mayank Kumar, Co-founder & Managing Director, and Gaurav Kumar – President, Corporate Development of upGrad said, “Enterprise workforce upskilling is a supercritical need; however, the sector remains highly fragmented.”
“upGrad has always seen enterprise upskilling as a strategic growth driver and we are making some nonlinear movements to reinvent B2B learning in India and create an integrated LifeLongLearning ecosystem for our stakeholders,” Mayank Kumar and Gaurav Kumar added.
“We are passionate about what we do. It gives us a great sense of pride in working with people to transform their lives and support the realization of their full potential. We have put in years of hard work building a bespoke training and content portfolio that makes new-age learning more immersive and outcome-oriented for both corporates & individuals,” commented Sanjay Bahl, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Centum Learning.
“Both upGrad and Centum are committed to driving outcomes for their learners. I am excited about combining the two synergies for creating a scalable portfolio for continued results.”
“Both upGrad and Centum take great pride in transforming the lives of working professionals, and the trajectory of their firms through our dedicated focus on life long learning and personal growth. We are excited at the opportunity of combining our complementary skills to build a scalable portfolio across the value chain,” said Rajeev Vasudeva, Chairman, Centum Learning.
