From upGrad to BroderPlus: Mayank Kumar's next bet is blue- and grey-collar mobility

After helping build one of India’s largest edtech companies, Mayank Kumar is now tackling a very different problem: global labour mobility.

Kumar, co-founder of upGrad and founder of BorderPlus, believes the next major opportunity lies not in white-collar upskilling but in helping skilled blue- and grey-collar workers access jobs overseas. The company is currently focused on healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, as developed economies grapple with ageing populations and workforce shortages.

“I wanted to do something in the blue-collar and grey-collar space,” Kumar tells Fortune India in the sidelines of Mumbai Tech Week. “In the context of upGrad, that was not an area we wanted to venture into. We had reached a good scale with a good team in place, and that’s where I felt I could pursue this interest.”

The shift also reflects a larger economic opportunity. While education technology largely serves domestic markets, talent mobility creates an export-oriented business.

“I always wanted to do something where I can earn in dollars. Therefore, export revenue was an important aspect for me to focus on,” he says.

Learning from upGrad

Kumar says one of the biggest lessons from building upGrad was around business models. While upGrad primarily monetised learners, BorderPlus is designed to earn revenue from employers and recruiters.

“When I was building upGrad, I always wanted to build a play where I could monetise the enterprise more than the consumer,” he says. “In BorderPlus, the majority of the revenue comes from the recruiters rather than the candidates. We usually don’t charge anything from the candidates.”

However, he argues that the most important lesson has remained unchanged. “If you’re focused on providing the right outcome for learners, business will automatically come,” Kumar says. “Our entire business model is hinged on the success of the candidate finding a job.”

That focus extends beyond training. Success, he says, is measured not by courses completed but by successful placement abroad. “It does not matter how well you have trained or taught someone. What matters is whether you have landed that person in that country.”

A large market despite perceived limits

Unlike digital education, where scale can theoretically be unlimited, cross-border employment appears constrained by immigration quotas, licensing requirements and labour demand. Kumar disagrees.

“The ecosystem is pretty large,” he says. BorderPlus currently focuses on healthcare, where Kumar estimates India alone could potentially send 30,000 to 40,000 nurses abroad annually.

“If you’re doing 30,000-40,000 nurses, that itself is a ₹1,500-2,000 crore revenue business,” he says. The opportunity, according to Kumar, extends well beyond India. BorderPlus is already sourcing talent from countries including the Philippines, Brazil, Egypt and Uzbekistan while placing workers in markets such as Germany.

For Kumar, the company’s long-term vision spans multiple geographies and sectors. “There are seven broad destination geographies, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Japan and Korea,” he says. “Then there are sectors like healthcare, hospitality, retail, teaching, construction, manufacturing, trucking and logistics.”

Although BorderPlus sees opportunities across industries, healthcare remains the company’s primary focus for the foreseeable future.

“We are about a year old, so healthcare is the focus,” Kumar says. “Healthcare itself can be a $200 million business for us.” Germany remains the company’s largest destination market, though it has recently expanded into Saudi Arabia and is preparing to scale operations in Japan.

Solving a fragmented industry

Labour migration itself is hardly a new business. Millions of Indians have moved overseas for work over decades. Kumar argues that the industry’s fragmentation creates the real opportunity.

Traditionally, candidates often deal with multiple intermediaries across different countries before securing a job abroad. “There are so many actors in the journey that it becomes very difficult to build scalability,” Kumar says.

BorderPlus’ solution is vertical integration. The company manages sourcing, training, placement and post-arrival processes within a single system. “We are an integrated solution provider,” he says. “We control sourcing and training. We have companies in Germany, work with more than 70 care homes and hospitals there, and control the recognition process once candidates land.” The company currently operates across eight cities in India, the Philippines and Brazil.

Timing the market

BorderPlus has already attracted investor interest, but Kumar believes founders often overestimate the importance of fundraising alone. “A fair bit of value is still in the form of shares at upGrad for me,” he says. “But more than the financial benefit, it is the credibility you build.”

That credibility, he argues, helps when engaging with employers, governments and regulators in destination countries.“What I did at upGrad gives me some advantage. People know what I have done earlier. That credibility helps when you are building something for the second time.”

Asked what investors want to see, Kumar points to three factors: market size, founder-market fit and timing.

“First, how big is the opportunity? If you can see a ₹4,000 crore revenue business, it’s a good business to build,” he says. Second, founders must demonstrate commitment. “This is a very boring, gritty business,” Kumar says. “Investors want to know whether the founders are willing to stay with it for the long term and grind it out.”

Talent mobility as a strategic asset

Kumar believes labour mobility is becoming increasingly important not only for workers and employers but also for India itself. According to him, remittances from Indians working abroad have become one of the country’s most significant sources of foreign exchange.

“About $140 billion comes from Indians working abroad,” he says. “It is one of the biggest sources of foreign currency for India.”

The benefits extend beyond economics. “The government sees this as a very positive initiative because it creates jobs, generates remittances and enhances India’s reputation globally,” Kumar says.

Unlike foreign direct investment, remittances directly reach households and communities, often helping families improve living standards, fund education and build assets. “These remittances don’t go to large corporates. They go directly to households,” he says. “They allow people to do something more meaningful with their lives.”