'India will have 2,500 GCCs by 2030'

Bengaluru: India is likely to attract an estimated 160 new Global Capability Centres (GCCs) every year over the next five years and reach a total of 2,500 by 2030. Currently, there are 1,700 GCCs in India, one-third of them are in Bengaluru. The incremental growth will largely come from the US and Europe.

“I think the incremental growth will continue to come from the US and Europe. US companies continue to lead in setting up their GCCs in India. Costco is coming to Hyderabad. McDonald’s came. Healthcare, automotive, and retail customers are coming,” said Priti Sawant, Founder, and CEO, JoulestoWatts (J2W), a GCC solutions firm.

Bengaluru-based J2W offers end-to-end solutions to enterprises develop and scale up their GCCs in India.

The availability of right talent in India is tilting the scale in favour of India. Being the largest hub, almost 65% of the total workforce in the GCC sector globally is employed in India. When it comes to the talent availability, adaptability, India is a better place to set up GCCs. Also, Tier-2 cities are providing value and cost arbitrage to global companies, she said.

Sawant said the next growth in the GCC sector will come from the Tier-2 cities like Coimbatore, Mangaluru, Baroda, Mysuru, and Jaipur. Mumbai and Pune will continue to lead the BFSI sector. Bengaluru and Hyderabad are going to be the leading destinations for GCCs.

Founded in 2015 by Priti Sawant, J2W has a robust global footprint across eight countries including India, the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. J2W helps MNCs set up their GCCs in India. With its proprietary AI platforms, J2W enables clients to achieve significant cost optimizations over conventional outsourcing models. It serves over 300 GCC centres and 70% of Fortune 500 clients.

The company’s comprehensive service architecture covers the entire GCC lifecycle—from strategy and location optimization to flexible BOT and CaaS engagement models and AI-powered research advisory—delivering transformational value and operational excellence. J2W manages 8–9 greenfield and brownfield GCC transformations each quarter.

Having helped over 300 GCCs establish their centres in India, J2W is now looking at inorganic growth. In the next three years, it aims to double its customer base and employ 25,000 people and double the customer base. It currently employs 5,300 workers in India. It is looking at acquiring a company with an asset size of $30-50 million in the nearshore. “We are looking for companies with unique capabilities and deeper technology. We are looking at adding value through this acquisition, Sawant said.

J2W holds strength in developing brownfield GCCs. It is looking at Tier-2 cities like Mysuru, Mangaluru to bring its clients. It wants to build employability in these cities and the talents have moved post-Covid. It hopes to set up 40-50 new brownfield GCCs. "Our aspiration is to achieve over $1 billion business in the next five to six years as India will have 2,500 GCCs by 2030," Sawant said.

Over the next 18 months, it is looking at achieving $120 million in topline and $300 million in the next three years. The company is preparing a blueprint to achieve $1 billion revenues, she added.