What Works: Building Social Capital with Aptech's Vidya

This 20-page "What Works" case study discusses Vidya (Hindi for “knowledge”), a for-profit computer literacy programme run by Aptech Ltd, a computer education and training company in India. The purpose stated in the document for the creation of Vidya is to "extend training to underprivileged students, casual computer users, and those who thus far have had little or no contact with computers, such as retirees." Vidya acts as a feeder for higher level courses offered by Aptech and has increased Aptech’s market share in the information technology (IT) training/education market in India, opened new markets, particularly in state and national governments and schools, and helped to pave the way for increased international expansion." The purpose of this study is to describe the business model of Vidya as replicable and effective.

First, the Aptech infrastructure includes 2,449 training centres spread across 52 countries. The average centre, as detailed here, has between four and six computer labs, five or six classrooms, and 700 enrolled students at any given time. Centres are independent franchises, depending on allowable business structures in each country, in which Aptech maintains quality by contractual obligations, supervision by regional managers, and curriculum and advertising control. "From the students’ perspective, Aptech remains a single entity. All centres teach a common curriculum leading to a common certification and all instructors have met the same Aptech-administered qualification criteria. Advertising, which is generally designed and purchased by Aptech on behalf of its franchisees, is common across all centres, as are promotions and pricing bands. Finally, students can transfer between centres."

The educational model incorporates instructor-led, computer-based, and web-based instruction and learning based on instructional design and paedagogical research by Aptech’s Technology and Academics Advisory Group (TAG), using methodologies that train the students to meet industry standards and incorporating recent technologies.

The Vidya programme has enrolled 350,000 people (at the time of publication, August 2003), the largest group being students. Of the enrollees in the Vidya (basic) course, approximately 30 percent eventually enrol in a more advanced and higher cost course.


The article states that this model's success shows the opportunity to develop for-profit approaches to education and training in developing countries. It observes that the training is of high quality and is very current, where public school models often cannot provide these standards. It is, however, available at a lower cost and lower profit margin, as a development-oriented project.


The TAG gives Aptech the ability to remain current in the IT industry and reflect that in the quality of its centres and its curricula. The franchise business model allowed for rapid expansion. It maintains a close relationship with franchisees and their employees and runs training workshops for franchisees to support employee motivation and satisfaction. In order to be successful, Aptech has customised course materials, including translating them into local languages. It has modified its franchise business model to fit commercial and legal realities where it has wished to locate.