GEMS Education

Varkey's parents founded Our Own English High School in Dubai in 1968.^[9][15] Varkey returned to Dubai in 1977,^[10] and his employment included work at Standard Chartered bank,^[1] opening a small trading company and a maintenance company, becoming part owner of the Dubai Plaza Hotel, and entering the healthcare industry.^{[7][8][9][10][13]}

When in 1980 local authorities insisted that his parents' Our Own English High School be housed in a purpose-built facility, Varkey took over the operation of the school, which had under 400 students at the time.^[8] He dropped his other businesses, expanded the school, and added new schools as well.^[10][13][14] The education situation in Dubai was ripe for expansion, since local schools were only for native Arabs, and the children of the ever-increasing number of expats needed education of their own.^[14][15] Varkey opened Indian, Pakistani, and British schools,^[15] and offered education under the different curricula: Indian (CBSE and ICSE), U.S., British, and later International Baccalaureate.^[16][17][18]

In 2000 Varkey established Global Education Management Systems (GEMS), an advisory and educational management firm, in advance of his worldwide overseas expansion.^[19] In 2003, he began opening GEMS schools in England and elsewhere.^[7][20]

Varkey Foundation

In December 2010, Varkey consolidated and structured his various donations and charitable initiatives by creating the Varkey Foundation (initially the Varkey GEMS Foundation) as the philanthropic arm of GEMS. The foundation intends to impact 100 impoverished children for every child enrolled at GEMS schools, via enrolment and education-access initiatives, worldwide teacher training programs, advocacy campaigns, and physical projects such as building classrooms, schools, and learning centres.^[8][21][22] Bill Clinton launched the foundation.^[8][13][23]

In March 2011, the foundation partnered with UNESCO for girls' education in Lesotho and Kenya, and donated $1,000,000 to the effort.^[26][27] In September 2011, a further $1 million was pledged with UNESCO to train 10,000 school principals in India, Ghana, and Kenya.^[8][28] In 2014, the foundation's Teacher Training Programme committed to train 250,000 teachers within 10 years in under-served communities across the world.^[29]

In 2013, the Varkey Foundation helped launch the annual Global Education and Skills Forum, in partnership with UNESCO and the U.A.E. Ministry of Education.^[30] Bill Clinton gave the inaugural keynote address.^[31] At the second annual forum in March 2014, Varkey announced the Global Teacher Prize, a $1 million award to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession, to be presented at the third annual GESF in 2015.^[32]

Varkey Group

Varkey Group is the umbrella organisation covering GEMS Education and Varkey's other businesses, including healthcare and, previously, construction.^[33] Varkey founded the company in 1979, and it is based in Dubai, with additional offices in the UK, U.S., and India.^[34]

In 1984 Varkey founded Welcare, a healthcare consultancy and management venture which developed a number of hospitals and clinics.^[13][35] A controlling interest in Emirates Healthcare, the Varkey Group's umbrella company which held Welcare, was purchased by Mediclinic International in 2012.^{[13][35][36][37]} The sale of his healthcare sector allowed Varkey to focus on education and educational philanthropy.^[8][13][38]