What is the Potential for Edtech Startups in Southeast Asia?
And How They Can better Serve The Market
The Edtech market in Southeast Asia is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2021. The region has seen the emergence of many edtech startups with a rapid increase in venture capital funding.
However, the industry is still unknown to most of the people. The edtech market in Southeast Asia is expected to reach $1.5 billion by 2021. The region has seen the emergence of many edtech startups with a rapid increase in venture capital funding.
Edtech startups will see a boost in revenues as the demand for online learning grows in Southeast Asia.
A major reason for this is that countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia are becoming more tech-savvy with each passing day and are rapidly increasing their internet connectivity rate — now at 63% in Vietnam, 74% in Thailand, and 77% in Indonesia — allowing them to access quality education on their smartphones or other digital devices provided by EdTech providers such as Khan Academy and ALISON Learning Cloud.
Another important factor is that schools are becoming increasingly aware of using technology at school level which will further fuel demand for EdTech products in schools across Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia is a region with the largest youth population in the world.
It is also a region with high literacy rates, low poverty levels and high economic growth. The region is also home to some of the best universities in the world. With over 2.9 million students in tertiary education in 2015 alone and increasing exponentially in 2020, Southeast Asia is a region that is home to an educated population.
One key factor that will drive the growth of Edtech startups in Southeast Asia is the increasing demand for more vocational training and skills development. In the coming years, it is expected that the demand for vocational education will grow tremendously as businesses and employers move away from traditional university degrees towards more practical and job-ready skills.
Southeast Asia has a major problem with providing quality and affordable education.
This emphasizes the need for private educational institutions to enter the market to fill this gap. Therefore, Edtech startups will be able to provide this service by filling these gaps through technology.
Finally, another important factor driving growth of Edtech startups in Southeast Asia is a growing trend of e-commerce in the region. As online shopping is becoming increasingly popular, we can expect online retail giants such as Amazon to enter into other markets outside their home country.
Overall, there are numerous factors driving growth of Edtech startups in South East Asia:
growing internet connectivity rates;
a growing youth population;
rising literacy rates;
high economic growth;
strong local universities;
high unemployment rate among youth;
lack of access to quality education;
a growing trend towards e-commerce among millennials;
and government initiatives for skill development programmes across various sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, food processing and hospitality industries among others.
With these factors taken into consideration, it would not be surprising if we saw a massive boom in edtech startups over the next few years from 2021!
How can edtech startups in Asia better serve the market?
Edtech startups can better serve the edtech markets in Asia by focusing on three things:
- Offering low cost and affordable education to all
- Providing flexible education with the focus on practical, job-ready skills
- Having an emphasis on vocational training and skills development.
In conclusion, it is safe to say that Edtech startups will see a boost in revenues as the demand for online learning grows in Southeast Asia.
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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