Ed-tech gets Wings!
The coronavirus pandemic has been a watershed moment for the world’s Ed-tech sector which was valued at around USD 200 billion in 2019, pre-pandemic world. Things though have changed drastically with the onset of The lockdown and fear of COVID-19 spread. Schools, colleges, and educational institutes have managed to take the long-pending leap and take everything online. The pandemic has led to a substantial increase in the user base of both paid as well free Edtech platforms taking the number to almost a double.
A report by YS reported that there has been almost a 50% increase in the time spent online studying, which has gone up from 60 minutes to 90 minutes. The report also notes almost a 40% increase in willingness to pay and a massive 83 % jump in the actual number of the paid user base. According to the same report, predicted numbers for the online education offerings across Classes 1 to 12 are to be increased about 6.3 times by 2022. The market is set to grow 3.7 times which will create meaningful opportunities for incumbent players and space for multiple new startups.
Now, The Good that’s going to come from this move
- Edtech is a proven market
We tend to think of schools and universities as hubs of innovation. In reality, education has been slow to embrace the full potential of technology. Think of it as uncharted territory. There are major problems yet to be solved, and even those companies who have found success capture only a fragment of the market. On top of that, the edtech market is not limited to educational institutions. Consumers and corporations play a huge role in this space. Consumer-focused edtech companies raised $3.85 billion in 2017, and company-driven ones raised about $3.79 billion, according to Forbes.
- Edtech market has both capital & potential just depends on your sales
Think about how you decided where to go to college. You may have chosen your particular school based on its specialization, its sports or its location. But at their core, each school offered pretty much the same thing: a college degree.
Education is pretty much the same across the board. But overall, if you encounter a problem, it’s almost guaranteed you will find an entire pool of customers looking for a solution to that same problem. If you can develop a solid solution, word will get around. And the possibilities for the growth and scale of your business can be huge.
- The Ed-tech market doesn’t want to be left behind
Tech startups value speed — to develop, to market, to iterate. That pace has begun to filter into other industries, and even the largest and most bureaucratic organizations, education is no different. The industry may be coming from behind when it comes to being tech-savvy, but it does accept that technology and innovation are critical moving forward.
