Indian edtech startups niche down into nursing, allied healthcare upskilling

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Faced with slowing growth in core segments like test preparation and white-collar upskilling, edtech operators are eyeing allied healthcare servives and nursing skilling as the next big opportunity.

Indian edtech companies, including PhysicsWallah and leaders like upGrad co-founder Mayank Kumar and former Unacademy chief operating officer (COO) Vivek Sinha, have turned their focus to skilling in nursing and allied healthcare services over the past year, targeting a promising niche within upskilling, which has remained a brighter spot amid the broader challenges in the edtech market. upGrad's Kumar has shifted gear to focus on this emerging sector.

Kumar, on 16 October, stepped back from his operational role to launch a new venture targeting blue-collar upskilling, with a particular emphasis on nursing and geriatric care professionals. While Kumar has not zeroed in on the model for the company, named BorderPlus, it would revolve around placement of trained AHPs (allied health professionals) in Indian and international hospitals, he told Mint.

“The demand for trained nurses and AHPs has existed for some time, but now that people have understood their core businesses, they are looking at adjacent areas which they can build for triggering interest in this segment," said Kumar. Earlier this year, he also wrote an angel cheque for Emversity, a startup led by former Unacademy COO Vivek Sinha, which operates in the same space offering degrees in allied health like anaesthesia and operation theatre technology, medical laboratory technology, emergency and trauma care, dialysis technology and so on.