"Mid-Market GCCs Fueling India's Next Growth Surge, Says Nasscom-Zinnov Report"

Varahi media.com online news,Hyderabad, April 22, 2025: India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) continue to play a pivotal role in the country’s tech industry, contributing almost one-third of its total exports. A new report from Nasscom and Zinnov, titled ‘India’s GCC Leap: Capturing Global Mid-Market Momentum,’ reveals an exciting shift in the country’s GCC landscape, with mid-market GCCs emerging as powerful innovation hubs that are driving agility, product excellence, and enterprise transformation at scale.

India now houses over 480 mid-market GCCs, employing more than 210,000 professionals across 680 units. These centres account for 27% of all GCCs and 22% of the total GCC units in the country, playing a significant role in India’s growing GCC ecosystem. Over the past two years, more than 45 new mid-market GCCs have set up operations in India, making up 35% of new GCCs and 30% of all new GCC units during this period.

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Despite being about 40% the size of their larger counterparts, mid-market GCCs are proving to be highly impactful, consistently driving product innovation, digital maturity, and enterprise agility. Their lean operating models and strategic focus have helped them achieve 1.3 times more presence in transformation hubs, with their maturity curve advancing 1.2 times faster than larger GCCs.

India is now a global leader in product management and DeepTech talent for mid-market GCCs, with 47% of global product management talent and over 25% of DeepTech professionals (AI/ML, cybersecurity, cloud, data science) based here. Around 60% of end-to-end product and platform ownership in enterprise portfolios, particularly within the Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) segment, is now driven by mid-market GCCs in India.

Bengaluru, Hyderabad, NCR, and Chennai continue to be the leading hubs for mid-market GCCs, with 74% of new GCC units established in these cities. Hyderabad, in particular, has emerged as a talent hotspot for mid-market GCCs, contributing to 25% of the sector’s talent growth in the last five years.

Rajesh Nambiar, President, Nasscom, commented, “The next wave of global capability will be driven by speed, specialization, and strategic influence, not just size. Mid-market GCCs are evolving beyond delivery engines to become innovation labs and centres of excellence that drive R&D, product innovation, and enterprise digitization with global impact.”

However, mid-market GCCs face challenges in attracting early-career talent, primarily due to limited brand visibility at top campuses. Additionally, many of these centres operate without standardized processes, which can hinder scalability and collaboration. Their minimal local brand presence also limits their ability to integrate with India’s broader innovation ecosystem.

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Pari Natarajan, CEO, Zinnov, added, “Mid-market GCCs are rewriting the playbook for India’s tech landscape. They’re not just smaller versions of large enterprises; they’re transformation hubs that drive product ownership and culture change. India is home to nearly 47% of global product management talent for these firms, and 60% of end-to-end product ownership comes from here. With faster market entry, innovation clusters in Tier-2 cities, and GCC-as-a-service models, India is poised to lead the world in digital-native enterprises.”

Looking ahead, the potential for growth remains vast. Globally, there are an estimated 130,000 to 150,000 mid-market companies, and India is well-positioned to attract 30,000 to 40,000 of them, especially from markets such as the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Japan, and in sectors like software, BFSI, and healthcare. By fostering the right environment, mid-market GCCs in India can evolve into AI-driven innovation hubs, creating intellectual property, influencing policy, and operating as autonomous, high-growth entities.

For India to unlock this potential, focus must be placed on streamlining entry pathways, developing cost-effective GCC-as-a-service models, building vibrant innovation clusters, and driving supportive policies.

Mid-market GCCs are Capability Centres established by mid-sized enterprises, typically with annual global revenues ranging from $100 million to $1 billion. These centres focus on delivering high-value, specialized services while maintaining a leaner operational model compared to larger GCCs.