Unlocking Value: Why Healthcare PE Groups Should Set Up GCCs in India

As healthcare private equity (PE) groups look to optimize costs and maximize value for their portfolio companies, setting up Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India presents a compelling opportunity. By leveraging India’s vast talent pool, GCCs can deliver significant cost savings while driving innovation and efficiency across healthcare businesses.

Access to a Skilled Talent Pool

India boasts a large, highly educated workforce, particularly in fields like healthcare, life sciences, technology, and analytics. This talent pool can seamlessly support a range of functions, including R&D, digital health initiatives, regulatory compliance, data analytics, and operational back-office tasks. Importantly, the cost of hiring skilled professionals in India is often 40–70% lower than in Western markets, providing healthcare PE groups with a cost-effective way to access world-class expertise.

Strategic Cost Savings

By centralizing shared services and critical functions in a GCC, PE groups can reduce operational redundancies across their portfolio companies. These cost efficiencies translate into higher margins, improved EBITDA, and enhanced valuation for their investments. Furthermore, the scalability of Indian operations ensures that the GCC can grow alongside the PE group’s expanding portfolio without a proportional increase in costs.

Innovation and Digital Transformation

India’s strong focus on digital transformation and emerging technologies makes it an ideal location for advancing healthcare innovation. GCCs in India can spearhead initiatives like AI-driven diagnostics, telemedicine platforms, or process automation, empowering portfolio companies to stay competitive in the evolving healthcare landscape.

Operational Agility

Establishing a GCC also enhances the agility of portfolio companies by centralizing key operations and enabling standardized processes. This results in faster decision-making, improved compliance, and better resource allocation across the portfolio.

Market Proximity and Opportunities

With India being one of the fastest-growing healthcare markets globally, a GCC in the region provides strategic proximity to emerging opportunities. PE groups can better understand the local market dynamics, forge partnerships, and even pilot new products or services tailored to India and other similar markets.

Conclusion

Setting up a GCC in India is more than just a cost-saving exercise—it’s a strategic investment that unlocks operational efficiencies, drives innovation, and enhances the competitive edge of healthcare portfolio companies. As PE groups seek ways to deliver higher value to their stakeholders, leveraging India’s strengths through a GCC can be a game-changer.

India’s combination of talent, cost advantages, and innovation potential makes it the ideal destination for healthcare PE groups to build GCCs that empower their portfolio companies to thrive in an increasingly complex and competitive market.

What’s your take on leveraging GCCs for healthcare? Share your thoughts in the comments!