Aptech heads to Latin America

Mumbai-headquartered Aptech Ltd is trotting the globe to make giant strides in the IT education space.

After China, the global learning solutions major is chasing the African dream to pep up its overseas gambit. In sync with its multi-product and multi-geographies strategy, the company is planning to grow its flagship brand — Aptech Computer Education — in Nigeria from 15 centres to 30 by 2011.

Ninad Karpe, MD and CEO of Aptech, said, “We are under-represented in Africa. So we will focus on French-speaking countries to expand footprint. For this, we are betting big on localisation.”

And not just Africa, the company is upbeat about Latin American markets as well. Brazil, the fastest growing IT market in the LatAm region, is expected to increase its IT spending to $23 billion by 2013, according to Business Monitor International.

Spotting a goldmine, Aptech plans to rollout 30 centres in the next 14-18 months. The company has entered a 51:49 JV with Falgo Group to set up IT training centres in Brazil. At present, the company has centres in Mexico, El Salvador and Peru. Aptech is present in over 35 countries, including China, where it has 200 centres, Russia (18) and Nigeria (15).

Aptech is also building a diverse offering. The company has 45 hardware training centres — N-Power — across India. The company is planning to add 40 more centres in the next one year. The optimism is palpable as the IT training market in India touched $700 million in 2008, according to research firm Gartner.

The sector in the Asia-Pacific region is estimated to touch $13.6 billion in 2013 from $5.6 billion. Industry trade body Nasscom anticipates a shortage of 5,00,000 IT professionals despite companies conducting training and certification courses.

Aptech on Wednesday launched a new brand — English Express — that will offer English language training in the country.  It plans to open 80-100 English centres across India in the next one year with an investment of Rs 3 crore.