Siddharth Banerjee, CEO of UNIVO Education, said the recent legal support for online degrees from the University Grants Commission has added a lot of credibility to the sector by ensuring parity with offline degrees.
India is on the cusp of growth and innovation, and UGC is taking the lead to make online higher education a common and reliable option for students across the country, he said.
Legal frameworks are adapting to changing consumer behavior as individuals from diverse backgrounds, including professionals, athletes and workers, embrace online education for ease, flexibility and price. This way, you can earn an online degree while building your business.
"We are working hard to build relationships with industry partners to help improve performance," Banerjee said.
India’s technological leap in the last decade, characterized by widespread access to mobile phone data and the India stack of Aadhaar and UPI, has created a conducive environment for internet adoption, including online higher education, he said.
The company aims to partner with the choicest of universities to bring quality degrees to learners in India and contribute towards achieving the government’s targeted gross enrolment ratio of 50 percent by 2035.
The digital-first education company caters to over 81,000 paid learners from 115 countries, with access to a range of universities.
UNIVO Education has evolved as a key player in shaping the future of online higher education in line with the New Education Policy 2020, he said.
UNIVO secured a Series A $76-million funding from Avenu Learning, with a valuation of $220 million. Avenu Learning, backed by Southern New Hampshire University (USA) and Seek Investments (Australia), are the strategic investors in the company. It has a revenue run-rate of over Rs 160 crore in FY24.
