What Quest Alliance does

Quest Alliance is a Bangalore-headquartered nonprofit trust founded in 2005 that designs blended learning programs and tools for India's school-to-work transition, targeting socially and economically vulnerable youth aged 15–30, the educators who train them, and government institutions (ITIs, vocational training institutes, secondary schools). Its core product suite includes the Quest App (an Android mobile learning platform with 200+ hours of content), Career Conquest (36 interactive mobisodes for career exploration, Core77 Design Award winner 2019), The Hub (educator enablement platform), Scratch-based coding toolkits, and an AI literacy module launched in November 2024 for ITI students. Programmatic offerings—MyQuest, Anandshala, Secondary Schools Program, MasterCoach, and Change Leaders Academy—are delivered through a network of 40,000 educators across 3,350+ learning institutions in 12 Indian states, reaching a cumulative 29 million learners since 2008.

The organization operates a not-for-profit revenue model funded almost entirely by philanthropic grants and corporate CSR partnerships, with disclosed checks including a $350,000 Cisco grant (2016), a $100,000 LinkedIn grant (2017), and an undisclosed MacKenzie Scott trust-based grant (July 2023). Go-to-market relies on multi-stakeholder consortia—most notably the Future Right Skills Network (FRSN) with Accenture, Cisco, and J.P. Morgan—and direct MoUs with central and state government bodies including DGT/MSDE, state Departments of Employment and Training, and SCERT. Beneficiary services are provided free of cost; all programs and digital tools are delivered at no charge to learners, educators, and partner institutions.

Quest Alliance's distribution moat is anchored by its integration into India's national ITI skilling architecture via the Bharat Skills portal and by an ecosystem of 950+ CSO partners that localize program delivery. Strategic positioning emphasizes systemic change through curriculum co-development with government, research-backed blended learning design, and a stated Strategy 2029 plan. Risks include high funder concentration on a handful of corporate CSR partners, dependence on continued government partnership, leadership continuity following the 2020 death of COO Abhijeet Mehta, and absence of disclosed revenue or audited financials.

Name

Quest Alliance

Legal name

Quest Alliance

Website

https://questalliance.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Quest Alliance is a Bangalore-based nonprofit that builds blended learning tools and programs—Quest App, Career Conquest, The Hub, and AI literacy modules—to equip disadvantaged Indian youth and their educators with 21st century skills, delivered via ITIs, schools, and corporate CSR partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Technology and Vocational Training Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Educational Support Services (611710), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

After-School, Tutoring & Academic Enrichment Nonprofits (BPAGADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

STEM, Digital Skills & Innovation Partnerships (EDADALAJ), Dropout Prevention, Alternative Education & Re-Engagement Nonprofits (BPAGADAL)

Keywords

• Education technology
• Vocational training
• Youth employability
• Skills development
• Nonprofit education

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangalore

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grants: Quest Alliance is a not-for-profit organization that receives trust-based grants from philanthropists and charitable foundations. Received grant from MacKenzie Scott as part of her $2.7 billion global charity initiative to enhance capacity, technology, and systemic change initiatives in education and workforce development.
2. Corporate CSR Partnerships: Multi-stakeholder partnerships with global corporations (Accenture, Cisco, J.P. Morgan, IBM, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Bank of America, HSBC, Oracle, State Street, Wells Fargo, etc.) through their CSR initiatives to fund skills development programs.
3. Government Collaborations: Partnerships with central and state governments (DGT/MSDE, various state DETs) to implement programs in ITIs and schools, often with co-funding or government resource allocation.
4. Donations: Individual donations and corporate giving through platforms like GiveIndia. Also receives support through Global Giving campaigns.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Quest Alliance is a not-for-profit organization that designs and delivers blended learning programs, education technology products, and capacity-building services to equip socially and economically vulnerable youth (ages 15-30) in India with 21st century skills. It operates programs such as MyQuest (youth employability), Anandshala (school strengthening), Secondary Schools Program (STEM), MasterCoach (trainer certification), and Change Leaders Academy, supported by proprietary ed-tech products including the Quest App, Career Conquest mobisodes, and The Hub educator platform. The organization works through multi-stakeholder partnerships with central and state governments, ITIs, schools, NGOs, and global corporations to deliver its programs free of cost to beneficiaries.

Product overview

Quest Alliance offers a portfolio of interconnected education technology products and programs designed for the school-to-work transition. The core offerings include: MyQuest (youth employability program), Anandshala (school strengthening), Secondary Schools Program (STEM education), MasterCoach (trainer certification), and Change Leaders Academy. Key technology products include the Quest App (mobile learning platform with 200+ hours of content), Career Conquest (digital career exploration toolkit of 36 mobisodes), and The Hub (educator tools platform). These are complemented by the Future Right Skills Network consortium, which integrates AI literacy into ITI curricula through partnerships with Cisco, Accenture, and J.P. Morgan. The organization also offers various toolkits for digital literacy, coding, and career development, delivered via blended learning methodologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Hub: A platform containing tools that empower educators to engage with blended learning strategies, materials and networks to comprehensively develop 21st century learners and build their social capital.
• Career Conquest
• Quest App

Products and services

• MyQuest Youth employability program that facilitates school-to-work transitions and career pathways for youth through blended learning curriculum including digital sessions, classroom sessions, workbooks, outdoor activities, industry engagement, assessments, and career connect opportunities. Operates in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Delhi-NCR and other states.
• Anandshala School strengthening program that builds capacities of schools to ensure students stay, engage and learn. Includes Early Warning System for school dropout prevention piloted with UNICEF in Uttar Pradesh. Worked with VSO in Bihar to build model clusters and schools.
• Secondary Schools Program Program fostering 21st century skills in adolescents using STEM concepts. Equips high school students with skills for digital literacy, coding, career development, and building agency, with emphasis on girls in STEM. Reached 142,526 students across 934 schools in 10 states.
• MasterCoach 5-month online certification program aimed at building 21st century trainers. Combines experiential and online learning to build trainer capacity with four modules focusing on thinking, doing and being of a trainer.
• Change Leaders Academy Program cultivating a community of leaders to drive and support change in education and skilling ecosystems.
• Quest App Interactive mobile application for anytime, anywhere learning, featuring over 200 hours of content for students and facilitators. Supports blended learning methodology with modules for communicative English, work readiness, digital literacy, and life skills.
• Career Conquest Digital career exploration toolkit consisting of 36 interactive mobisodes (mobile-episodes) that equip young people with mindset, skills and knowledge to craft fulfilling careers. Winner of Core77 Design Awards 2019.
• The Hub Platform containing tools that empower educators to engage with blended learning strategies, materials and networks. Contains four components for comprehensive development of 21st century learners.
• Future Right Skills Network (FRSN) Multi-stakeholder collaboration between Accenture, Cisco, J.P. Morgan and Quest Alliance to modernize vocational training at India's Industrial Training Institutes. Has supported 2,471 ITIs and reached over 851,000 students.
• Introduction to Artificial Intelligence Module AI literacy module launched for ITI students to expand job opportunities and equip them with essential AI knowledge and skills. Part of integration into national ITI curricula.
• Scratch-based Coding Toolkit Self-learning toolkit built on the open Scratch coding platform for students to explore computer science, coding and game design. Includes self-learning videos and student workbooks.
• Toolkits Open-access self-learning toolkits and resources for educators including career development, blended learning, digital literacy, life skills, and coding tools built on platforms like Scratch.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.6x increase in earning opportunities for students with digital device access
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

25 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• AccenturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 September 2019Long-term partnership since 2009 under Skills to Succeed initiative. Part of Future Right Skills Network consortium (with Cisco, J.P. Morgan) to offer digital skills training to ITI students. Supported Career Conquest toolkit development. Has trained over 20,000 youth through various programs.
• IBMcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 July 2019Partnership for STEM for Girls program. Aiming to equip 200,000 girls and 100,000 boys with STEM skills over 3 years. IBM volunteers serve as role models. Working with state governments and 700 government secondary schools in 10 states.
• LinkedInsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Partnership since 2015 under LinkedIn for Good. Trained 4,000 students on LinkedIn and career skills. Invested INR 65 Lakhs ($100,000) for R&D of mobile-first learning toolkit. Supported Career Conquest development. LinkedIn volunteers engage through InDays.
• CiscocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2016Formal partnership since December 2016 under Youth Employability Initiative for ITIs. Provided grant of INR 2.2 Crore ($350,000) to train 10,000 students. Part of Future Right Skills Network since 2019. Partnership has supported 2,471 ITIs and 851,000+ students.
• SAP Labs IndiasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Future Right Skills Network consortium contributing to ITI modernization efforts.
• MicrosoftsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouthSpark partnership providing computer science and digital literacy training. Microsoft Philanthropies supported white paper on Future of Jobs and Skills. Microsoft volunteers engage with Quest centers.
• OraclesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Anandshala to enable access to diverse digital learning tools for 400 teachers and head teachers. Network of Change Leaders trained to support digital tool adoption.
• DeloittesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting workforce development initiatives through CSR programs.
• UNICEFsecondaryOthersPartnership to pilot Early Warning System for school dropout prevention in Uttar Pradesh under Anandshala program. Helps teachers identify students at risk of dropping out.
• Central Square FoundationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for integration of employability skills curriculum in school system for grades 9-12. SCERT Delhi approved the curriculum focusing on English Communication, Life and Career Skills.
• Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentral government ministry overseeing ITIs. DGT signed MoU with Future Right Skills Network. Expanded partnership 2021-2024 for digital skills training to all ITI students. Quest contributed to Bharat Skills portal curriculum.
• Directorate General of Training (DGT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment body under MSDE managing ITIs. Key partner for Future Right Skills Network implementation. Partnered for Employability Skills curriculum development on Bharat Skills portal.
• CapgeminisecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMyCode project partnership for STEM and coding education in 4 states. 25 schools across Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana under Secondary Schools Program. Equips students with 21st century skills and STEM mindset.
• NisumsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting 21st century skills and STEM curriculum at government school in Borabanda, Telangana for Grade 8-9 students.
• Scratch FoundationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of Scratch Education Collaborative (SEC). Only Indian organization in SEC alongside 40 global organizations. Building equitable world for learners with creative computing skills.
• DasrasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for youth employment initiatives. Partnership with Bank of America for Navigator training. Collaborative approaches for adolescent girls empowerment.
• International Youth Foundation (IYF)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal initiative partner for EquipYouth program spanning 12 countries. Caterpillar Foundation and IYF supported youth employability program in India 2012-2014.
• GodrejsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for My Career initiative and career development modules for youth in ITIs.
• Selco FoundationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for sustainable energy solutions in skilling and education programs in Karnataka.
• Code.orgsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for computational thinking and coding education in Odisha secondary schools program.
• VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for building model clusters and schools under Anandshala program in Samastipur, Bihar. Brought multicultural volunteers from Britain and India.
• Tandem ResearchsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnowledge partner for white paper on Skills for Future Jobs: Technology and the Future of Work in India.
• GiveIndiasecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTier 1 certified partner for individual and employee giving. Global Giving campaign raised $10,350 for Anandshala program.
• AccenturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkills to Succeed initiative partner since 2009. Trained over 20,000 youth in English, Life Skills, Retail Customer Interaction Skills. Extended support multiple times for disadvantaged youth training.
• ServiceNowsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting education and skills development programs.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC): Public-private partnership under Ministry of Skill Development that oversees India's skilling ecosystem, including Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. Comparable as the broader ecosystem player governing the ITI and skills space in which Quest operates.
• Room to Read: Global education nonprofit operating across multiple countries including India, focused on literacy and girls' education. Comparable as a large-scale international education nonprofit with India presence and corporate/foundation funding model; broader in scope (literacy + gender) but similar operating logic.
• Teach For All: Global network of independent organizations addressing educational inequity, including Teach For India. Comparable as a mission-driven educator-development network; less direct overlap in vocational/skills but operates in the same education-equity space with similar philanthropic funding structure.

Others

• Dasra: Indian strategic philanthropy organization that has partnered with Quest on multiple initiatives (Bank of America Navigator, adolescent girls empowerment). Comparable as an ecosystem intermediary that funnels corporate capital to nonprofits like Quest, making it an enabling peer rather than direct competitor.
• Capgemini India CSR / MyCode: Quest's own MyCode partner for STEM and coding education in 4 states. Comparable as a corporate CSR vehicle deploying digital/STEM education programs in Indian schools, though operating as a funder/implementer rather than a standalone nonprofit.

Direct peers

• Pratham Education Foundation: One of India's largest education nonprofits, focused on literacy, numeracy, and vocational skills for underprivileged children and youth. Directly comparable as an Indian nonprofit delivering education and skills programs at scale through government school partnerships.
• Tata Strive: Tata Group's skilling initiative running skill development centers across India, focused on vocational training for youth including ITI-adjacent programs. Comparable in target market (Indian youth, vocational training), but backed by a corporate parent rather than diversified CSR.
• NIIT Foundation: Indian nonprofit arm of NIIT focused on digital literacy and skills training for underserved youth, often through ITIs and schools. Closely comparable in delivery channel (ITIs/government schools), target beneficiary (underprivileged youth), and CSR-funded program model.
• Akshara Foundation: India-based education nonprofit focused on foundational literacy, numeracy, and school quality programs. Comparable in operating model (nonprofit, government school partnerships, donor-funded) and in addressing dropout prevention/learning outcomes that overlap with Quest's Anandshala program.
• Magic Bus India Foundation: India-based nonprofit delivering school-to-work transition and livelihood programs for underprivileged youth using a curriculum-driven model. Closely comparable in target population (15-25 youth), program design (life skills + employability), and corporate CSR funding model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/questalliance
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/thequestalliance
• Facebookfacebook.com/questalliance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/579404/admin
• Instagraminstagram.com/questalliance

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Quest Alliance