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The size of the e-learning space is estimated at $243 billion by 2022. With players like Byju's, Catalyst Group, Vedantu and many more foraying into this segment, e-learning seems to have clearly transcended beyond classroom boundaries in India.
According to a KPMG study, the online education industry in India is expected to register a six-fold growth by 2021 to 9.6 million (from 1.6 million users in 2016) and estimated at $1.96 billion.
“Every industry is going offline to online, and India's coveted engineering coaching centres can't be left behind,” says Akhand Swaroop Pandit, co-founder and Chief Executive, Catalyst Group.
Online education
The group focusses on providing students easy access to quality education for cracking competitive examinations related to engineering. The platform currently provides online GATE classes, IES (Indian Engineering Services) and coaching/guidance for Army Technical Exam, UPSC and many other exams that students are unaware of, Pandit told BusinessLine .
“We have enrolled around 2.25 lakh students over the last year-and-half; the number of registrations is on the rise. The shortest course duration is three months and the longest is nine months.”
This Jaipur-headquartered start-up company in the education management space with branch offices in Delhi and Lucknow is looking at the omni-channel route to strengthen its presence.
“Our coaching centre in Jaipur was inaugurated last month. We are planning to provide offline coaching in Patna and Lucknow (as a number of students are disinclined to take the online route) within the next six months. We will offer both daily and week-end classes to enable college students and working professionals crack competitive exams.”
On investment, Pandit said that he started the venture with an initial investment of ₹5,000. “In the early days, I used to offer online education for free on YouTube. After seeing good traction, we started the portal; have an App as well.”
Gaining traction
“With record registration of 2.25 lakh students in less than 2 years, our investments also rose. Our annual investment on training and studio centres is ₹35 to 40 lakh. We have invested in 12 studios — three each in Jaipur and Lucknow, two in Patna and one each in Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru. Will be adding one more studio in Patna in the coming days. This is to facilitate the faculty to come there. We have a special interactive board for conducting classes. We will need 45 to 50 studios in India alone,” Pandit said, adding that “the Group is looking to expand to countries like Nepal, Bhutan and Singapore.”
Catalyst Group's annual turnover is around ₹7 crore.
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