Organisation

Skills Nation, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Singapore

Resource Link

Published in 2022, Link

My Key Takeaways

Few disagree on education’s importance for our collective future.

Yet, ironically, the sector is a laggard. Only 4% of its spend goes toward tech and digital transformation.

Many see immense potential in EdTech, but they’ve also struggled for years to find viable and scalable EdTech business models.

Regardless of which camp you are in, here’s some takeaways from a report by Skills Nation and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Singapore to help EdTech founders and investors identify the right growth opportunities in Singapore and Southeast Asia (SEA).

80% of all SEA EdTechs operate in 5 market segments

– Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) Tutoring & Homework Help
– Online Courses
– Upskilling & Reskilling
– Management Systems
– Language Learning

If your EU/UK EdTech is not in the above segments (Pg 35), you’ll have less competition… but do check whether you have product fit for SEA in the first place? 🤔

Fundraising in SEA? Here’s what you need to know.

The report maps 342 active EdTech companies across SEA and they are catching the attention of global investors (Pg 18).

Investors from SEA accounted for only 25% of all equity investments in the last 8 years. See page 30 for a list of top 20 EdTech fundraisers in SEA.

Pages 31 and 32 highlight top EdTech investors in SEA and a sample of the startups they invested in. The most active Asian Edtech investors are EduSpaze, January Capital and East Ventures. 

That said, EdTech investment in SEA still lags other sectors (1/7 of SEA equity investments into Fintech, 50% for Food, Pg 46)

SEA loves its young

SEA Edtech solutions are split ~50/50 between child-learning and adult-learning.

Sorry to break the news to adult-learning EdTechs but over 75% of all capital invested went to solutions for 3-18 years old.

Singapore is the undisputed EdTech hub of SEA

Global investors poured US$1.4B into SEA Edtech startups over the last 8 years.

49% (170) of SEA’s EdTechs have their HQ in Singapore, and nearly half of SEA’s EdTech investments went into Singapore-based startups (Pg 29)!

The Asia hub also punches above its weight with 2 EdTech unicorns (Emeritus, LingoAce).

Edtech and education market research cheatsheets

The country snapshots cover key SEA countries like Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore (Pg 10 – 16), (Pg 23-27)

Interesting information include prominent Edtech companies, average deal size, investment over time, number of employees in the sector, funding based on target group, quality of education…

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“The metaverse has the potential to democratise education and adult training like nothing we have seen before. However, for the next 5 – 10 years, this will remain in the hands of a few tech giants (defeating the purpose of the decentralised core of Web3).”

“The hardware needed to access the metaverse – VR goggles and other devices – as well as strong and stable internet connectivity will be out of reach for low income groups until the next EdTech presents a solution for this challenge.”

If you truly believe in Tech for Good, public and private players need to work together to avoid further digital exclusion in EdTech, similar to what is already happening in sectors like fintech and healthcare.

Follow my LinkedIn post here.

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About Zhilin SIM

Having worked and lived in Singapore, the Nordics, China, Spain, UK, I’m now based in Paris.

I’m fluent in English, French and Mandarin, and I’m learning Arabic because it’s a beautiful and fascinating language.

My team creates and supports one-many initiatives connecting corporate and startup ecosystems in Europe to business and innovation opportunities in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

I’m passionate about horticulture, watercolour, startups/tech as well as French cuisine, Peranakan kueh techniques and other global cuisines.

Feel free to connect with me if you think my network in Europe and Asia could be of benefit to your business and innovation activities.