Bengaluru-based Mesa School of Business has raised ₹110 Cr ($11.4 Mn) in its Series A funding round in a mix of debt and equity. The round pegged the business school at a post-money valuation of ₹385 Cr ($40 Mn), cofounder Ankit Agarwal told Inc42.

While the ₹85 Cr equity round was co-led by Dharana Capital and existing backer Elevation Capital, the remaining ₹25 Cr was raised via venture debt from InnoVen Capital and Alteria Capital.

Mesa plans to utilise the fresh capital to strengthen its leadership team, integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its programmes, deepen partnerships with startups and launch new courses. 

Founded in 2023 by Agarwal and Varun Limaye, Mesa offers on-campus educational programmes for individuals. It currently offers three full-time programmes targeting early-career professionals, fresh graduates and undergraduate students. 

While the startup charges ₹25.4 Lakh in tuition fees for its one-year post-graduate programme, its one-year Forge programme for fresh graduates has a starting fees of ₹15.4 Lakh. The undergraduate programme costs ₹48 Lakh over four years. 

Despite being one of India’s fastest-growing employment segments, the local startup ecosystem continues to face a talent gap. Speaking with Inc42, Agarwal said that the talent paucity is especially acute in non-technical roles, which account for nearly 80% of jobs in the sector.

While graduates from premier institutions often have established recruitment pathways into startups, students without access to such networks, Agarwal said, lack a structured route to enter the startup ecosystem.

“If you want to go and work in a startup, there is no one place which sort of builds the right network,” he said.

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