EduKart now offers 2500 courses from 120 course providers, providing diversity in education from K 12 and test prep to higher education and certification. Also, it has a list of programs offered through its online channel including online delivery, delivered books, classroom interactions, counselor interactions, a hybrid model for education.
Ishan Gupta says that online education has picked up, with technology playing an important role. However, the education sector has not done very well in India. One reason for it is the fragmented nature of the business. Second, it is a self-destructive segment.
“By this, I mean that it is an institution of excellence, which tries to scale up but has not been able to do it properly.”
He elaborates on his self-acclaimed fact by giving an example of IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur as two separate institutions. There has been no other IIT Delhi. No other branch of IIT Delhi exists. Education companies are facing a similar situation. So, we want to position Edukart just as a delivery player, to help students find the right course on our platform. We don’t wish to deliver those courses to the students.
EduKart had recently partnered with Yuvraj Singh, who is the brand ambassador for the company to launch a scholarship program. In association with certain institutes and under the leadership of its brand ambassador, Edukart promoted individual courses and awarded scholarships to deserving students as a part of the initiative.
Ishan feels that such efforts only help in making a small impact involving 1000 of students, with EduKart in the middle of the eco-system. Edukart is like another marketplace model working on a commission basis when students enroll for a particular course using the platform.
Ankit Gupta, one of the investors in EduKart also says that it was Ishan’s passion and determination which initially drew his interest. The company, he feels, has an active horizontal model offering courses from K 12 to certification level. The biggest challenge, however, remains that we as a company don’t have control of the content that gets delivered. Our credibility is in line with the delivery by content partners. In other words, we can’t be micro-managing the content.
Ishan Gupta has been a part of Paytm and Facebook in the past. After completing his studies abroad, he joined Facebook as a Growth Manager in India. Then Ishan worked with Mobile VAS Company 197. He is married and wishes to see EduKart as the first destination of choice for student’s searching for online education programs.
