Why Edtech is Up and Coming in 2021
An Insight
Introduction of EdTech Industry
The Education Technology Industry is growing significantly. It has now become a $15.6 billion market in the US alone. According to a report by KPMG, nearly every country has increased their allocation to education technology up to 40% in the last five years.
The major reason behind this is that almost all the countries have accepted digital learning as a way of teaching and learning.
The industry of EdTech will be one of the fastest growing industries in Asia as well.
The EdTech Industry is defined as the infrastructure that helps to develop educational solutions. It includes educational technology products, services, applications and video games.
It also includes hardware such as computers and smartphones which can be used to access these application software.
The EdTech industry is a combination of hardware along with software and services and it is growing at a very fast rate in Asia.
The EdTech industry has emerged as an important tool for teachers and educational institutions to help them in their day to day work and teaching. This can be seen in the increasing number of investment made by Venture Capitalists in this field worldwide.
In Asia, many startups, like Cudy Technologies, have been developed in order to provide effective education through technology, which will definitely help the growth of this sector.
Asia’s EdTech Industry Growth Factors
EdTech Industry Growth Drivers: Asia’s education technology market is expected to grow 2 times faster than other regions by 2021.
The major reason behind this increase is because of the increasing demand for online learning for traditional subjects such as Maths, Science etc., along with the introduction of new subjects like coding languages such as Typescript, Java etc., Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning etc., which are all growing at a very high rate than other subjects taught in schools and colleges in the region.
Increase In The Number Of Students
There will be an increase in the number of students who will enter schools from 2020 onwards which will further push up their demand for online education products such as digital content, apps or programs etc., which will lead to a rapid growth of this industry over time. There will be an increase in the number of students who will enter schools from 2020 onwards which will further push up their demand for online education products such as digital content, apps or programs etc., which will lead to a rapid growth of this industry over time.
Mobile Learning
Another big driver for EdTech growth could be mobile learning (m-learning). This concept allows users who are on-the-go have access to courses via their mobile devices without having any internet connection at all. A lot of companies are currently working on the same and this has led to a lot of interest from investors. According to Oracle, m-learning is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 35% between 2017 and 2021.
Government Initiatives
Government initiatives have played a big role in the growth of EdTech industry over the last few years. The Indian government has announced many ambitious projects related to education that includes Digital India, Startup India, Make in India etc., launched by PM Modi in 2015. These programs are aimed at bringing all people at par with the rest of the world by providing them quality education through EdTech products and services. This will definitely help in growing this industry further over time.
The Potential Of The EdTech Industry
Edtech companies operate online or offline which support teaching and learning environments through technology or content generation for students and teachers.
These organizations have been promising as they offer cost-effective services that help students without them having to spend on equipment or infrastructure for operation.
The global ed-tech market is expected to reach US$43 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 9%. In Asia Pacific region alone it would be worth US$16 billion by 2021 as per their predictions.
Asian EdTech startups are increasingly focusing on providing digital content such as mobile apps or e-books that help students learn on their own using technology devices such as laptops or mobile phones etc., without having any expert’s guidance from anyone.
Many startups also provide online platforms where students can interact with their peers and get help from experts worldwide through various messaging apps like WhatsApp etc., which makes it easier for them to connect with experts directly without having any formal set up for learning i.e., no classrooms are required in this environment which makes it more suitable for rural areas where there is less availability of schools.
Some startups also provide online platform for teachers who can interact with other educators via these websites where they can share knowledge about different subjects taught in schools etc., thereby increasing the overall quality of teaching across the country.
Another very important factor is that most of these startups offer affordable solutions thereby helping parents easily afford high quality education for their children which they would otherwise not be able to afford easily because they might not be working professionals or do not hold high paying jobs i.e., blue collar workers etc..
Many startups also provide services to students at a very nominal price which makes it easier for them to access online education.
The EdTech industry will be one of the fastest growing industries in Asia as the government has recently announced that India will have a digital economy by 2025 and they are working towards it. India’s current e-commerce market is on the rise and it has been growing at a very fast rate over the last few years.
According to Forrester Research, the market size of India’s e-commerce will reach US$48 billion by 2020.
The government is also working towards achieving its goals for Digital India initiative which aims to provide digital literacy for all Indians which will definitely help in increasing the digital penetration of this industry in the country.
The increase in population of students entering schools starting from 2020 onwards is another factor which will drive demand for this industry as their parents would like them to have good educational material available online so that they can learn on their own without having any expert guidance or teachers etc., due to lack of availability of teachers in many rural areas or because they cannot afford any private tutor etc., for their children.
This would further help this industry grow as a whole, thereby providing more employment opportunities especially in rural areas where there is less availability of jobs and more demand for skilled workers who can work online without having any fixed location in order to provide quality education through technology or content generation using technology devices such as computers or laptops etc..
Currently only about 10% of class 8 student population is able to understand computer programming languages such as Javascript or Java which will definitely put pressure on this industry in near future because all these students entering school would ask for similar kind of services from other companies that offer such business models i.e., providing education through technology devices etc., while studying these subjects at school itself.
In summary, the major demand for this industry in Asia will come from the increasing number of students who will be entering schools from 2020 onwards and the government initiatives to provide better education to all people in India through technology devices such as computers or laptops etc., which is another major driver for this industry.
These factors, along with rising demand for online education across Asian countries due to lack of enough infrastructure for traditional education or lack of expert teachers available in certain areas only will definitely be a big boost for the EdTech Industry in Asia, thereby helping it grow at a much faster rate than other industries.
Conclusion
Technology hasn’t just changed how we live, but it has also changed how we learn.
And as our societies become more digitized, so does our education system.
Learning through technology means that students can access course materials from any part of the world and interact with educators across continents. It’s easy to see why more and more startups are making their way into this booming sector.
EdTech startup companies have been offering affordable solutions by providing quality material and services, thereby helping parents and students save their money on purchasing expensive equipment’s or infrastructure for operation which is not possible by most of them who do not hold jobs or they are earning very less than what they would like to earn i.e., blue collar workers.
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.
You can connect with me on Linkedin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderlhk) and let me know that you are a reader of my Medium posts in your invitation message.
