Sun, Sea and EdTech ��️

Summer holidays are upon us, a time usually reserved for children to forget about the classroom and enjoy some fun in the sun. But increasingly, children are spending their holidays at summer school or on a study tour rather than on the beach. Summer educational programmes have existed for some time in developed regions, such as North America and Europe. Now they have caught the attention of parents in Asia, where sending children on overseas study tours is the latest parenting trend.

In China particularly, parents are increasingly focused on giving their children a high-quality and well-rounded education that includes international exposure. According to new research, the size of the Chinese market for global study tours and education camps grew to $14 billion in 2018. It is likely to grow at an average year-on-year increase rate of 20%, creating an industry with significant potential.

The US and UK, followed by Australia, are generally the most popular destinations as these countries appeal to parents who wish to improve their children’s English language abilities. STEM-themed study trips are the top choices for K12 students and their parents, while university tours are also extremely popular with older students.

Many top universities in the US and UK are reporting record numbers of Chinese tourists visiting during the summer months.

The significant potential of this market has not gone unnoticed, with nearly 30 startups in the education and study tour segment having raised pre-Series A funding by the end of 2018.

Children are not the only ones using their time off to advance their education. Due to the changing landscape of the workplace, there is significant demand from university students and professionals for part-time tech skills training to boost their employability. This has led to the creation of the fast-growing tech boot camp industry that was worth $240m in 2018 - nine times the size it was in 2013.

Several prestigious universities across the globe have picked up on this trend and are offering a range of summer and part-time courses focused on tech skills. This summer, both Yale and Harvard have partnered with EdTech companies to offer part-time tech-focused courses. In an increasingly competitive world, the trend of upskilling in our spare time is rapidly accelerating, creating opportunities for startups and large players alike.

Indonesia has become the fastest-growing tourist destination in Southeast Asia. With over 17,000 islands, spanning 5000km across the equator, boasting pristine beaches, picturesque views and dramatic landscapes, it is no wonder that Indonesia will welcome over 20 million tourists in 2019 alone. Home to 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites, including the Komodo National Park that is considered one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, Indonesia’s Tourist Minister, Arief Yahya, predicts a Forex earning of $20 million this year, and to potentially overtake Thailand in its tourism market in the next 5.

Not only is it one of the most popular holiday destinations, but it is also becoming a leading destination for international schools in the region. An example of which is Green School, one of Indonesia's 198 international schools, who commits to educating for sustainability with a purpose-driven curriculum. The 2019 Indonesian education budget increased year on year by 12.26% to $28 billion. Indonesia has 2.6 million teachers, 50 million students and 250,000 schools. Due to the growing size of classes, with Indonesia's average classroom size of 29 compared to Finland's 19, blended and online learning opportunities have become more and more in demand.

The application of EdTech has enabled learning opportunities to reach remote areas of Indonesia, providing traditional classroom subjects alongside language and music lessons and test preparations. Ruangguru offers exactly this. Founded in 2014, the platform now has 80,000 registered teachers and over 7 million users, becoming Indonesia’s largest online tutoring platform.

It is packaged as a “one-stop learning” mobile app that can connect students with teacher offering videos, tests, homework and further assistance if needed.The second leading EdTech company is Haruka Edu, founded in 2013 and raised $4m in funding. It focuses on higher education, enabling universities to share online learning and degree programmes. By providing digital courseware, study materials, and IT infrastructure amongst other operations, it aims to offer high-quality online education affordably. Other startups include Circledoo, founded in 2017, an online learning community; SIKAD, a management system for schools founded in 2015 and Quintal which integrates LMS and SIS for Indonesian schools, founded in 2015.

Only in the last five years have we seen a growth in opportunity for EdTech startups. Now we are seeing more affordable tech becoming available in the schools and at home, and so more EdTech companies are being created. If the tourism market can overtake Thailand in the next five years, who knows what the EdTech sector will have in store...

Robot on the Beach

NOW AND NEXT

GLOBAL ALL STARS

Indonesia: Your next holiday destination or buzzing new EdTech ecosystem?

MARKET ROUND UP

M&A HIGHLIGHTS

Significant Fundraising Activity