 "upGrad's Mayank Kumar, Oyo's Ayush Mathur unveil new venture BorderPlus")
Edtech unicorn upGrad co-founder Mayank Kumar and Ayush Mathur, an early team member at hospitality firm Oyo, have unveiled a new venture, BorderPlus—a talent mobility platform dedicated to connecting blue-collar workers with global opportunities. Reuniting after more than a decade since their time at the Parthenon Group, the duo said they have joined hands to redefine cross-border mobility, starting with the healthcare sector in Germany.
Mayank Kumar, best known for his journey in building upGrad into one of the largest integrated online skilling platforms, now ventures into his second entrepreneurial journey with BorderPlus while continuing to drive strategy and growth at upGrad. Ayush Mathur, who witnessed and contributed to Oyo’s growth journey from its inception, brings hands-on experience with global expansion and market dynamics, adding a critical edge to BorderPlus’ global aspirations.
“Ayush and I share a vision to unlock global opportunities for blue-collar workers, and this marks the right momentum as we look to expand our footprint,” said Mayank Kumar, co-founder of BorderPlus.
Talking about strategy and growth, he added, “Despite being the largest youth nation, there's a very severe opportunity gap in India that is restricting talent migration. Therefore, we have brought like-minded leaders together to revolutionise international recruitment and effectively channel India’s demographic dividend towards the right global opportunities. Ayush and I have also strategically divided geographical operations to maximise impact—Ayush focusing on addressing global workforce demand, while I lead talent acquisition in India.”
BorderPlus will initially focus on identifying global opportunities within healthcare and building streamlined processes. Powered by a proprietary tech platform, the company aims to facilitate language practice through interactive spoken exchanges while simplifying the complexities of international recruitment. The latter phase of expansion will involve hospitality, retail, teaching, construction, and logistics. It will also explore new geographies beyond Germany 6-8 months into operations, targeting regions like the US, UK, ANZ, Canada, Europe 1, Europe 2, Japan, and South Korea.
With Kevin Shah spearheading demand, Praniti Lal and Radnyee Naik bringing deep language expertise, and Subhendu Chandra leading supply, the company said the team is strategically aligned to tackle global workforce challenges and bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.
The training programme is designed to span 6-9 months and offers flexibility with offline, blended, or online formats. The final month or two will be conducted offline to ensure effective language learning. The first training location will be Pune, followed by Mumbai, with plans to expand to additional cities nationwide for last-mile training.
“Reuniting with Mayank after more than 10 years to build BorderPlus feels like a natural evolution of our shared values and goals. The global demand for skilled healthcare professionals is immense, and we’re committed to creating pathways that are transparent, efficient, and impactful,” said BorderPlus co-founder Ayush Mathur. “From my experience at Oyo, I know how tough it is to find the right talent within the hospitality sector, and a streamlined talent migration model will help us achieve scale through industry collaboration with organisations in Europe, the UK, the US, and Japan. It shall also elevate India’s journey to becoming the largest supplier of skilled labour.”