Unacademy Appoints Abhishek Pipara As CFO For Offline Centres Operations

SoftBank-backed Unacademy has promoted Abhishek Pipara to the position of Chief Financial Officer for its offline centres operations, as announced by founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal in a company-wide note on September 28, 2024.

Pipara will take over from Pratik Dalal, who came from CRED in January 2024.

The message viewed by Moneycontrol stated, “I’m excited to announce that Abhishek Pipara who has been with Unacademy for over 6 years, is being elevated to the role of CFO for Unacademy Centres. Abhishek has been an instrumental part of our journey, driving financial efficiency and strategic growth.”

Pipara’s responsibilities will include improving operational efficiency, enhancing the financial health of each Centre, and driving profitability. With a background in Chartered Accountancy and Company Secretarial training, Pipara has contributed significantly over the past six years at Unacademy, focusing on securing investments, managing mergers and acquisitions, and establishing systems and processes.

Unacademy’s offline initiative, Unacademy Centres, has emerged as a key player in the edtech sector, offering in-person coaching sessions and test prep for competitive exams like UPSC, IIT-JEE, and NEET, following the shift towards hybrid learning by online learning platforms post-pandemic.

In the face of a challenging operating and funding scenario for edtech companies, Unacademy has been striving to reduce its losses over the past year. It has also experienced a significant turnover in its senior leadership, with several executives leaving the company in the same period.

During FY24, Unacademy reported revenues of Rs 988 crore, marking a 5% drop from Rs 1,044 crore in FY23. However, it managed to cut its losses by 62%, from Rs 1,678 crore to Rs 631 crore, in the same period. The company last received external funding in August 2021, securing $440 million at a valuation of $3.44 Billion.