BorderPlus to send 1,000 Indian nurses to Gulf Cooperation Council by FY27

GCC healthcare ecosystem projected to require over 50,000 additional nurses by 2027, says BorderPlus CEO

With international markets offering lucrative packages for healthcare workers, workforce mobility platform BorderPlus on Thursday said it is aiming to expand into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and send around 1,000 Indian nurses by FY27 to meet the demand in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.

 

“We are aiming to send the first cohort of 50 nurses in the next two to three months, with at least 1,000 nurses to be sent in the next financial year (FY27),” Mayank Kumar, chief executive officer (CEO) and cofounder at BorderPlus, told Business Standard.

 

The platform will begin onboarding its first GCC-focused nurse cohorts by January 2026, with partnerships underway with hospitals in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

 

At first, the platform is planning to engage with more than 10 hospitals and medical facilities, collaborating with more long-term care operators and facilities in GCC countries in the coming time.

 

The demand for nurses, Kumar said, is high with the GCC healthcare ecosystem projected to require over 50,000 additional nurses by 2027.

 

“Demand is increasing annually at a rate of 10 to 15 per cent, with some markets like Saudi Arabia increasing at 20 to 25 per cent,” he added.

 

India approximately sends 25,000 to 30,000 nurses to the GCC per year, which comes to around 45 to 50 per cent of the nurse force joining GCC from other countries.

 

The mobility platform already has a presence in Germany. After adding GCC to its portfolio, BorderPlus will look at expanding into English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Australia and New Zealand. “We will also look at other European countries such as Italy and Spain,” Kumar added.

 

Kumar said that most of BorderPlus’ cohort of nurses is coming from Maharashtra, at around 45 per cent, with pockets in South India, the northeastern states and Delhi. “This can change with GCC coming in and skew a bit towards the North,” he added.

 

A major reason for this outflow is the difference in salary packages for nurses and allied healthcare workers in international markets. Kumar said that typical salaries in India range around ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 per month, while similar numbers for Germany are ₹2.5 lakh to ₹3.5 lakh per month.

 

“For GCC, this number stands at approximately ₹1.3 to ₹1.5 lakh per month. From a savings perspective, numbers for GCC and Germany are similar as there are no taxes in GCC countries and accommodation plus transportation is sponsored by the recruiter,” Kumar said.

 

On its part, worker mobility platforms like BorderPlus do an end-to-end process, which includes all training related to the prometric exam, language, support in documentation, visa and transportation.