The pre-school revenue in India is around $3bn and growing at a CAGR of 27.33 %. 70% of the Indian pre-school Franchise Opportunity market is still unorganized, comprising of neighborhood non-branded pre-schools. But increasingly the market is  getting organized and being redefined by the branded pre-schools, and here is the list of leaders defining the change in India.

Suhas Bedekar – Cofounder, The Learning Curve India

The Learning Curve’s story began in 2011, when two college friends ran into each other at the airport. Over a cuppa, they reminisced about the past and discussed plans for the future. The educationist, Suhas Bedekar, soon convinced the investment banker, Emron Samuel, that it was the right time to bring a world-class, professionally managed organization into the education sector in India, specifically the early childcare segment. The chance meeting led them to the third co-founder, Swati Bhatt, a corporate trainer and marketer. Within a short span of time, The Learning Curve is emerging as India’s fastest growing preschool chain, with international teaching methods and curricula to ensure the right kind of development for your little one.Suhas is an education sector professional with nearly two decades of extensive management experience building centre networks at preschools like Podar Jumbo Kids and EuroKids. He has a wealth of operational knowledge that made him widely sought out as a consultant for educational ventures.

Alok Modi, Chairman, Maple Bear

In April 2011 Maple Bear in India entered into a joint venture with Modi Edutech. The promoters of Modi Edutech and Maple Bear form part of a leading Modi Group in India with Mr. Alok Modi as the Chairman of Maple Bear in India and the region.Mr. Alok Modi is a young technocrat and entrepreneur.  Passed with distinction, he is First Class B.E. (Industrial & Production) from Mangalore University after being a student of Modern School, New Delhi.  Mr. Modi belongs to one of the industrial groups in India – Modi Group of Companies.  Apart from this, he has been involved in setting up schools in the rural areas of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, imparting education to nearly 7000 students from KG up to Intermediate level and has plans for their expansion and modernization.

Shiv Mittal, Founder, Ipsaa India

Ipsaa is like a large Indian home for children where we create wonderful experiences for them, enrich their thoughts and add joy to their journey of growing up. Childhood is a journey and the journey begins at The Centre of Joy and the credit for this foundation goes to Shiv and Kanchan Mittal.

Shiv is a Chartered Accountant and Company Secretary having over 25 years of experience in setting up businesses and scaling them up. Known in the profession as a pragmatic thinker and a dynamic leader, he has helped organisations set up and run business in India. With an eye for detail and an innovative mindset, he helps resolve conflicts and comes up with solutions to keep diverse teams together.

Priya Krishnan, Founder, Klay Preschool & Daycare

Priya Krishnan established her first daycare centre at Whitefield, Bengaluru, in 2011. She started her career with Anderson Consulting and moved on to Bangalore Labs and MphasiS first in India and then in locations like Singapore, New York and London. Being a mother of two boys, Priya had experienced firsthand the difficulty in getting quality childcare. She wanted to start a daycare chain that would help mothers get back to work without dealing with stress and guilt, and since then Klay has grown to become one of the most prominent corporate daycare brand.

Swati Popat Vats, Director, Podar Jumbo Kids

Podar Jumbo Kids, the Kiducation Philosophy Early Childhood Center is set up as a research hub in early childhood learning and represents a brand new era of early childhood education focusing on brain development, innovative teaching practices, parental involvement and developmentally appropriate curriculum. This philosophy is driven by Swati Popat Vats – educator, author, educational entrepreneur, parenting expert and nature advocate . She is the president of Podar Education Network.She is a world forum leader for India and her goal is to get more and more Indian Schools involved on International forums like World Forum Foundation.

Bela Kotwani, CEO & Principal, Cosmikids

At Cosmikids the focus is beyond academics to teach children the life skills that are required to survive and thrive in the real world, in a loving heart centered way. This concept was defined by Bela Kotwani who has formal education in Early Childhood Care and Education from Sadhana Education society in the year 1989. She has also completed a Certificate Course in Learning Disability, from Arya Vidya Mandir (Bandra W) in 1999. Seasoned with her teaching and administrative experience of more than 21 Years at Arya Vidya Mandir Ms. Bela Kotwani in her career so far has nurtured more than 2000 children. She is creative and is warm and passionate in her desire to teach children lovingly. She is open-minded and welcomes the challenge of new and innovative means of teaching children.

Sridevi Raghavan, Founder, Amelio

Amelio was founded in 2008 by two women who graduated from Harvard Business School with the firm belief that women CAN have it all – a fulfilling career AND loving, well cared for children. The CEO, Sridevi Raghavan graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School and is co-founder and CEO of Amelio. Sridevi has a diverse work experience which enriched her exposure and thinking along businesses in India. Having started her career in advertising with Ogilvy and Mather, Sridevi shifted trajectory, and worked in a few non-profits such as CRY and CARE in India. Recently childcare group Babilou has invested in Amelio and they have ambitious expansion plans.