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| Edited By: Rabin Ghosh |Source: |Updated: Sep 15, 2017, 02:12 AM IST
To focus on online venture and colleges
MUMBAI: Information technology (IT) training, e-governance and software services company SQL Star is looking at expanding its training programme to reach out to 100,000 students over the next 18 months from the current 14,000, as it aggressively rolls out its services to more engineering colleges.
Also, looking at the volatile market conditions, the company has shelved its $10 million foreign currency convertible bond issue, N R Ganti, chairman and managing director said.
The knowledge services arm of the company, which contributes about a fifth to its topline, is now going online. Ganti said the company has no plans to increase the number of retail training centres which currently stands at eight. “There will be no more centres. Now our focus is on colleges and online,” he said.
Hyderabad-based SQL Star recently launched an online portal for advanced software education. It is readying a payment gateway to enable distant learning programme. Ganti said the next initiative could be a portal to train in finance and accounting.
SQL Star has tied up with 12 engineering colleges to provide software training to about 14,000 students. It charges Rs 27,000-28,000 per student. The target is to reach 50 institutes and 100,000 students in 18 months.
The company has developed an embedded Linux platform called Embinux which optimises resources in wireless handheld devices. Ganti said it has signed on two telecom majors to develop applications around Embinux and has revenue visibility of $5-6 million over the next one-and-half years from these two deals alone. More applications for other hand-held devices are being considered.
Ganti said the company has raised the required acquisition funds through internal accruals and the balance (about $8 million) was to be used for meeting the working capital requirement to bid for e-governance projects.
It was considering other options of raising the fund.
