upGrad’s Ronnie Screwvala Calls A Meeting Of Edtech Founders To Discuss ‘Core Issues’

At a time when the country’s edtech ecosystem is reeling under the effects of the ongoing funding winter, upGrad cofounder Ronnie Screwvala has reportedly called a meeting of edtech founders to discuss the ‘core issues’ pertaining to the sector.

“Mayank (Kumar) and I propose a joint meet of all of us to really discuss a few core issues for the whole sector. Many of us work in different subsets but the underlying theme is this sector and the high impact work everyone is doing has to be positioned as a very credible one,” Screwvala said in an email sent to edtech founders, as per Moneycontrol. 

Mayank Kumar is the cofounder of upGrad. In the email, Screwvala said it would be beneficial to discuss a few things as a group, the report said.

The development comes at a time when edtech is among the hardest hit sectors by the funding winter. Indian edtech startups raised a whopping $4.8 Bn in 2021, but this number declined to $2.4 Bn in 2022 and a mere $267 Mn in 2023, as per Inc42 data. This has resulted in Indian edtech startups laying off thousands of employees.

Besides, BYJU’S, once the poster boy of the Indian edtech ecosystem, has been plagued by multiple issues over the last year or so, including rising losses, delay in filing financial statements, exit of board members, layoffs, funding crunch, and legal cases.

It is pertinent to note that Screwvala is among the critics of BYJU’S. Recently, after BYJU’S shareholders called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to reconstitute the company’s board and bring about a leadership change, Screwvala said it is an important step for the entire edtech ecosystem.

“Hope its not a whiff and then whimper but they will stay the course and get this done – for the whole eco system ! For india as an investment destination ! For just credibility overall of an otherwise sunrise and sunshine sector,” he said in a post on X. 

Meanwhile, upGrad, which offers higher education courses and skilling programmes in collaboration with colleges and universities, saw its net loss rise 76% to INR 1,141.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 648.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Its operating revenue nearly doubled year-on-year to INR 1,169.6 Cr in the year ended March 31, 2023.

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