Manipal Group acquires Jigsaw Academy

Manipal Education & Medical Group has acquired Jigsaw Academy, online analytics and big data trainer for professionals and students. Manipal ProLearn, part of Manipal Global Education Services Pvt. Ltd, offers certification courses across technology, digital marketing, data sciences, project management and finance.

The acquisition will help MEMG streamline its digital marketing spends and offer a larger set of course offerings to its clients for reskilling and upskilling. Founded in 2011, Bengaluru-based Jigsaw Academy raised $3 million from Manipal Global Education Services in 2015. The company claims to have more than 50,000 learners across more than 30 countries. In 2017, Jigsaw Academy and the University of Chicago launched a data science and machine learning program.

Upgrading skills is increasingly becoming important for professionals, particularly in technology, fuelling demand for such courses. “Things are changing fast in technology. If one is not able to keep pace, there is a real fear of becoming obsolete like a phone or computer.

MEGM estimates the online reskilling and upskilling market at nearly ₹730,000 crore. There are several start-ups in the space, including the likes of Udacity, Coursera and upgrade, which are estimated to be growing over 40% year-on-year, according to media reports.