New Talent Mobility Startup BorderPlus Launched by Leaders from upGrad and OYO

Mayank Kumar, co-founder of upgrad, and Ayush Mathur, a founding team member at OYO, have joined forces to launch BorderPlus, a platform connecting blue-collar workers with global job opportunities.

Reuniting after over a decade since working together at the Parthenon Group, they aim to address workforce gaps while ensuring fair access for workers from emerging markets like India.

Mayank Kumar, co-founder of upGrad, said, “India doesn’t have an abundance of natural resources. People are our greatest resource. To build something meaningful and big, India must capitalise on its demographic dividend. IT services are a prime example where we have developed an exceptional service line—addressing global needs. Given our demographic dynamics, I believe India is poised to become the world’s largest supplier of talent to the global economy.”

Opportunities behind BorderPlus

BorderPlus will start by focusing on the healthcare sector in Germany, with plans to expand into areas like hospitality, retail, teaching, construction, logistics, and trucking, while also exploring other regions in the future. 

The startup is creating an AI-powered chatbot, based on OpenAI's technology, to help users practice language through interactive conversations.

The co-founders shared that the first pilot batch of 10 candidates has begun. The startup plans to run monthly batches with 20-30 candidates each, eventually scaling up to weekly batches. 

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The 6-9 month programs offer offline, online, or blended learning, with the final 1-2 months offline for focused language training. The first training center is in Pune, followed by Mumbai, with more centers planned across India for final-stage training.

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Ayush Mathur, who spent over 10 years at OYO and was most recently its President in Europe, observed a labor shortage in roles like housekeeping in countries like Denmark and Germany, where a large part of OYO’s European business is based.

Ayush Mathur, said, “When you visit these hotels, you will often see limited staff at the reception or among other hotel employees. There’s a noticeable gap—or rather, an opportunity—for someone to step in and fill these roles. There is huge potential for sure. I believe India culturally fits in well if we approach this the right way. We have the resources to provide these skills globally. If we can skill people properly, or ‘finish’ their training, we can deploy them in the right geographies and skill categories.”

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