The company, which receives 70% of its revenues from overseas markets, sees about 40% of its enrolments from the US, 25% from India and 33-35% from other global markets where it operates.

In FY23, the company’s revenue from operations surged more than 70% to ₹3,343 crore, from ₹1,962 crore a year earlier.

“The number of Indians who want to learn or educate is less than 10% when it comes to 25-30 years of age and that’s still a drop in the ocean. So, in that sense, there is a much greater need and as traditional brick-and-mortar institutions would not be able to cater to it, we need partnerships. So, in India, we work with IITs and IIMs to amplify the impact of the footprint that they have,” Kalipatnapu told Mint on the sidelines of the second edition of the ASU+GSV & Emeritus Summit in Gurugram.

Eruditus partners with universities around the world to make executive education available to individuals and companies.

Globally, several experts in the edtech industry have highlighted the importance of the Indian market as universities across the globe aim to benefit from the country’s growing young population.

Industry executives also emphasized on the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) and tech advancements in the educational sector. They believe AI could be a game-changer for teaching as it would help personalize the student’s ways of absorbing information and adapt to their pace of learning by offering visual cues or prompts.

“That’s going to have a very positive impact…there’s a lot of conversation about tech going to replace education, but fundamentally it is only going to enable them further and give better access,” he said.

The edtech industry, which saw a heady growth during the pandemic, got a reality check when the pandemic ebbed and offline formats came roaring back. As a result, many companies had to restructure their business models and embark on a cost-cutting drive, including layoffs, to stay afloat.

Talking about the long-term potential of hybrid learning, Kalipatnapu said the company is seeing a lot of tailwinds of people seeking online education. He said the gross enrolment ratio of people getting into an undergraduate education is hovering at about 30% in India, compared to about 60% in the US. “That means that you need at least 30-40 million additional seats for people to do undergrad and you can’t build so many buildings…So, the headroom for learning and upskilling is huge. That’s what gives us a lot of optimism in terms of how deep the market is,” he said.

The company also expects to be profitable on a full-year basis in the current fiscal year (FY24). Eruditus follows a July-June accounting year. The Singapore-based company has also held discussions to shift domicile to India for a stock-market listing.

Kalipatnapu believes that the addressable market is so huge that multiple players can still exist. He also emphasized that investors are seeing this space on a longer-term basis and are now more deliberate about where they are allocating capital than they were three years ago. They are now looking for different metrics such as Ebitda and revenue growth which has probably led to longer times for conversations to close, he added.

Founded in 2010 by Kalipatnapu and Ashwin Damera, Eruditus offers management education programs including short courses, degree programs, professional certificates, and senior executive programs in collaboration with universities in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, India, and China. Some of its investors include Accel, GSV Ventures, Prosus Ventures and Sequoia Capital India.

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Published: 18 Feb 2024, 11:45 PM IST