Kaizen injects $4m in Indian childcare provider

The Bangalore-based company offers childcare services to professionals.

"Tie-ups with corporate customers ensure bulk enrolments and a sticky customer base," said Sandeep Aneja, founder and managing director of Kaizen. "The business model has reasonable pricing power and high entry barriers."

Established in 2002, YKROK has 15 centers across India in partnership with 50 corporations. All the centers are either located near corporate campuses or on campuses of corporate-sponsored child care programs. The pre-school intends to have a pan-India network of 65 centers serving more than 10,000 children in the next five years.

Similar to what happened in the US in the 1980s, Indian companies are increasingly using day care services as a tool for retaining employees and boosting productivity.

Kaizen's research notes that India's education sector is worth approximately $86 billion annually, comprised of $30 billion - approximately 3.7% of India's 2006 GDP - invested by the government; $43.2 billion worth of private spend; and $13 billion funded by the 150,000 overseas students who enroll in Indian schools each year.

In terms of investment opportunities, aside from childcare and traditional K-12 and higher education prospects, India's role as an outsourcing behemoth has made it a haven for vocational training opportunities, including English-language education centers and business process outsourcing (BPO) training firms. Kaizen also targets ancillary investments into companies related to books, IT services, equipment and buses.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Expansion
• Growth capital
• India
• Kaizen
• Education