The Largest Edtech Markets in Asia?
And The Obstacles
Singapore, China, India and South Korea are the biggest markets in Asia. India is a big market because the government there has invested a lot of money into school education and has made it a priority. Also, the budget of the Ministry of Human Resource Development has been increasing by double digits every year.
What are the biggest challenges for Edtech companies in Asia?
The biggest obstacle is that Asia is a huge market and there are many companies competing for the business.
Also, Asian governments don’t have a clear vision of what they want to do with education, so they don’t have any clear direction to lead the market. It’s very different from what we see in the West where the government knows what it wants and leads the companies to achieve their goals.
We can see that governments in Asia are not investing as much money into education as Western governments.
In Asia, companies have to find other ways to make money by building relationships with schools and students and finding other ways of revenue generation.
What are your predictions for the Edtech market in Asia?
I think the Edtech market in China will keep growing. In India, it will grow a bit slower because they have other priorities. But I think that Edtech will become a priority there in the next few years.
For example, to prepare for the digital economy, they are pushing their students into computer science, coding and learning how to use technology. There is a real effort from the government to bring this industry forward.
In South Korea, the market is also growing. It’s growing very fast and it’s one of the biggest markets for Edtech.
The government is making a huge investment into digital education. They are investing a lot of money because they see the need to bring their education system into this century as fast as possible.
In India, there is a real drive to bring a change in the education system and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
There are two different kinds of education systems: one for the rich who can afford to educate their children at international schools, and one for the poor who get educated in government-run schools. The government wants to create balance there.
In Singapore, the government wants to make sure that the students are well prepared for the Asian Century, which I think is a good move. I think this will bring up the Edtech market there.
What are the biggest obstacles for Edtech in Asia?
We can see that governments in Asia are not investing as much money into education as Western governments. In Asia, companies have to find other ways to make money by building relationships with schools and students and finding other ways of revenue generation.
In summary, the biggest obstacle is that Asia is a huge market and there are many companies competing for the business. Also, Asian governments don’t have a clear vision of what they want to do with education, so they don’t have any clear direction to lead the market.
It’s very different from what we see in the West where the government knows what it wants and leads the companies to achieve their goals.
About the Author
I am an educator have over 3 years of experience in product management, technology leadership, startups, angel investing and Edtech. I an EdTech startup Cudy Technologies (www.cudy.co) to help teachers teach better and students learn better using videos and interactive activities. If you are a teacher or student, signup for free at https://cudy.co/sg/register to start teaching and learning better today.
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