17 Aug 2026
Ronnie Screwvala - Founder of upGrad
Education

Ronnie Screwvala

Co-Founder & Chairperson · upGrad

📍 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Ronnie Screwvala co-founded upGrad to build career-focused online higher education for working professionals.

Ronnie Screwvala Founder Story

After building businesses in media and entertainment, Ronnie Screwvala entered education with the belief that professionals would need to keep learning throughout their careers. upGrad began with entrepreneurship and professional-learning programs and expanded into degrees, certifications, university partnerships, enterprise learning and global education. The company focused on structured learning, mentors and career outcomes rather than treating online education as only recorded video content. Screwvala's journey shows how a serial entrepreneur can transfer lessons from consumer businesses into a very different industry.

Ronnie Screwvala Education

Bachelor's degree in Economics from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics.

Career Before upGrad

Built businesses in cable television, media and entertainment and became strongly associated with UTV.

How upGrad Started

The founders saw growing demand for flexible higher education that working professionals could pursue without leaving their jobs.

Challenges & Failures

Building trust in online degrees, proving career outcomes, creating credible university partnerships and scaling learning quality.

Turning Point

Expansion from early professional courses into broader university-linked programs and global markets became a major growth stage.

Ronnie Screwvala Achievements

Co-founded upGrad and helped build it into a large higher-education and workforce-development platform.

Future Plans

Continue expanding lifelong learning, university partnerships, career services, enterprise programs and international reach.

Ronnie Screwvala's Advice for Entrepreneurs

Understand the learner deeply and build a brand around long-term outcomes rather than short-term acquisition alone.

“Continuous learning is becoming a permanent part of professional life.”

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Latest Updates From upGrad

17 Aug 2026
BUSINESS UPDATE

upGrad: Ronnie Screwvala's Education journey and next growth focus

Founder profile update for Ronnie Screwvala of upGrad. Co-founded upGrad and helped build it into a large higher-education and workforce-development platform. The journey has involved Building trust in online degrees, proving career outcomes, creating credible university partnerships and scaling learning quality. A key turning point highlighted in the founder story is: Expansion from early professional courses into broader university-linked programs and global markets became a major growth stage. Current strategic direction recorded in the profile: Continue expanding lifelong learning, university partnerships, career services, enterprise programs and international reach. Founder lesson: Understand the learner deeply and build a brand around long-term outcomes rather than short-term acquisition alone.
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