UpGrad, the ed-tech start-up for online higher learning, has acquired Rekrut India, a recruitment and staffing solutions company. This acquisition of 100 percent is a first in India where a recruitment firm has been purchased by an ed-tech company. This enables upGrad to be completely involved in a learner’s lifecycle, from schooling to jobs. The scale of the deal was undisclosed, but upGrad says that more than half a million learners who have completed their courses on upGrad have access to Rekrut.
Ronnie Screvwala and Mayank Kumar, co-founders of upGrad, said that this acquisition helps upGrad’s former and current students, including their alumni network, to enter the recruitment network of Rekrut.
Ajay Shah, Managing Founder of Rekrut India, a Mumbai-based startup, spent 15 years at TeamLease before launching in 2020. Rekrut has an extensive network of more than 100 recruitment experts that deal with hiring complexities. The organisation works closely with many corporations, small and medium-sized firms and large businesses.
For the ed-tech major, upGrad, guiding ROI of education by career outcomes was a key differentiator. By opening up wider placement opportunities and allowing upgraded learners to access Rekrut’s recruitment partners, the acquisition of Rekrut would turbocharge its career engine. “In a joint statement, upGrad co-founders Ronnie
Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, and Phalgun Kompalli said, “Rekrut will now open the floodgate of career opportunities for upGrad students. We are therefore excited to announce the team’s onboarding, a big move in making Grad a professional career powerhouse. This move is integrally aligned with the mission of our organisation to accelerate career growth as its trusted lifelong learning partner for every member of the global workforce.
After the acquisition, upGrad will become a 100 percent subsidiary of Rekrut India. With Ajay Shah continuing as the Managing Director, the company will run independently. The recruitment industry is a Rs 15,000-crore market, and upGrad says it strongly believes that an independent company would provide the ed-tech major with strong non-linear growth opportunities in this field. At present, we don’t give work to people in the industry in which we operate; we give people jobs.
This is primarily related to the ability deficit in India. The upGrad-Rekrut synergy would disrupt the environment and create an end-to-end manpower supply chain, where Rekrut is the cutting-edge job supplying demand partner, and upGrad will supply the highly qualified and future-ready talent. We will take the learners’ pipeline to the relevant stakeholders in the industry, helping them find the right talent with ease, while also offering upgraded learners a broader option of career transition,” said Ajay Shah.
