If all goes to plan in the next decade, those numbers will look small by comparison for the Dubai-based group. This is a third-generation company headquartered in the heart of the Gulf started by an Indian family from Kerala in southern India. From humble beginnings - the first school opened in 1960 - the Varkey family has built an educational empire with a market value of up to 550 million USD, based on their latest capital raising efforts.
The next wave of growth will be down to the alignment of Executive Chairman, Sunny Varkey and his two sons Dino (COO) and Jay (Senior Director of Business Development). Talking to Dino, it is clear he sees the world in a similar fashion to that of my editorial brief for CNN out of the UAE. The country serves as a hub for emerging markets by being at the crossroads of East and West and it’s a natural jumping off point for growth on the African continent.
The reality, Varkey suggested, is that ‘bricks and mortar’ schools can only take the group so far. He thinks they would top out at 600,000 students, when the demand from the developing world is far, far greater than that.
“We are the largest K-12 education company in the world but in the next ten years we want to be the largest education company in the world,” he tells me. The company plans to do this by being present in markets of scale, including large developing countries like Nigeria and markets of significance with a long track record of excellence, such as Singapore.
Governments in the developing world are playing a game of catch-up, both in terms of traditional primary and secondary education and also in the often-neglected area of applied skills or vocational training. To have sustainable growth, these markets need carpenters, electricians and mechanics. It’s hard work but those jobs are essential (and well-paid) and they help solve another crucial issue hovering over elected leaders: youth unemployment.
So, Varkey says the company needs to be nimble and serve the needs of its main constituents, which ultimately are students trying to make their way in a more competitive world. Policymakers however, are responsible for delivering opportunity and it is that which will drive GEMS’ future plans.
Distance learning may not be a new trend in advanced economies but the greatest need for it is in the developing world, where high-speed Internet access is becoming much more accessible than it was just five years ago.
Something a bit more radical from GEMS and the company's third generation is what they like to call ‘accessible private school education’. A higher-end GEMS school can cost 20,000 USD per annum and up to 40,000 USD for a premium category academy. The company is out to break that mould internationally by creating a low cost proposition for private education. Today, they are experimenting with annual fees of as little as 200 to 500 USD and no, those figures aren’t missing any zeros.
Varkey admits this new proposition is a learning curve but it is an area that he and his family feel needs to be explored and eventually delivered on a large scale.
This is why Varkey speaks with youthful energy about the next decade. Growth creates opportunity but also has its challenges. On paper and to its investors, GEMS want to grow from the 140 thousand plus students it has today to 5 million – and yes, that figure is also correct.
This means keeping the family in sync of course and by building the internal infrastructure to keep pace with the plans the current generation and the next generation, have for the group.
“If I think of the mission driving this company, it’s still consistent with what it was 55 years ago,” Varkey says, adding that he hopes it means that GEMS remains a powerful catalyst for change.
