Southeast Asia EdTech - $480M of VC in 5 Years

The education innovation opportunity in Southeast Asia is rapidly gaining momentum. Often overshadowed by that of its neighbours, China and India, Southeast Asia is building a vibrant, much needed and regionally focused ecosystem.

Education Intelligence Unit

calendar image
May 7, 2020

The education innovation opportunity in Southeast Asia is rapidly gaining momentum. Often overshadowed by that of its neighbours, China and India, Southeast Asia is building a vibrant, much needed and regionally focused ecosystem.

Global EdTech has had a massive decade and COVID-19 has re-shaped our collective assumptions for the future of education. Fortunately, Southeast Asia opened this new decade with a strong foundation, good momentum and an incredible opportunity to influence much-needed reform and transformation across the region.

ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has 10 member states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam with Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste as observers. ASEAN ‘s population is now over 620m people (nearly 10% of the world’s population) with 210 million under the age of 30. If ASEAN was a nation state it would rank second in the value of foreign investment flows, third in mobile phone subscriptions, and is the world’s fifth-largest market for cars.

As a collective, ASEAN has prospered over the past two decades with a “manufacture for export” strategy as the main pillar in most countries. While ASEAN countries are rushing to implement Fourth Industrial Revolution – or Industry 4.0 – technologies, the region is yet to roll out substantial changes to education policies, let alone innovation to reduce cost, increase access and improve outcomes. There are exceptions of course and Singapore is a global outlier on many dimensions, but next-generation education and skills are critical to regional growth and stability. “We need to invest more in education and encourage the development of more valuable skill sets, critical thinking and life-long learning if we are to succeed in this new (digital) economy,” notes ASEAN.

Rapidly gaining the attention of students, parents, policymakers and investors alike, are the new players advancing ASEAN education. The screenshot below, from HolonIQ’s Global Intelligence Platform, shows nearly US$480 million of venture capital in over 200 individual investments over the last five years. Jakarta based Ruangguru has attracted over $150 million in investment, boasting more than 15 million users and working with more than 300,000 teachers who offer online courses in over 100 subjects. Singapore based Emeritus partners with global universities—including elite U.S. institutions like MIT and Columbia to offer digital courses to over 50,000 learners from 160 countries in finance, marketing, innovation and leadership. Topica, a Hanoi based provider of online offerings from live English tutoring courses to full-on bachelor’s degree programs (through partnerships with existing universities) claims more than one million working adult learners have used the platform.

Source. HolonIQ Intelligence Platform

Ready to get started?

Get a personalized walkthrough of our platform.

arrow right

Where is this data coming from?

HolonIQ is the world's leading impact intelligence platform. We support governments, institutions, firms and investors, with data insights to power decisions that matter. If you are not already a client, request a demo to learn more about our platform.

arrow right

Latest Insights

Description

2021
2021
2020
2020
Sub Saharan Africa
Sub Saharan Africa
Nordic Baltic
Nordic Baltic
North America
North America
South Asia
South Asia
East Asia
East Asia
ANZ
ANZ
Market Sizing
Market Sizing
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality
Blockchain
Blockchain
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality
Regions
Regions
Markets
Markets
Mobile
Mobile
Client Report
Client Report
Publishers
Publishers
Labor Markets
Labor Markets
Global Landscape
Global Landscape
10 Charts Series
10 Charts Series
R&D
R&D
LMS
LMS
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Executive Panel
Executive Panel
Language Learning
Language Learning
Russia
Russia
Israel
Israel
Germany
Germany
France
France
Media and Press
Media and Press
Climate Tech
Climate Tech
MENA
MENA
South Korea
South Korea
Japan
Japan
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Digital Health
Digital Health
Global EdTech 1000
Global EdTech 1000
Unicorns
Unicorns
MOOCs
MOOCs
Global Giants
Global Giants
Client Note
Client Note
Capital Markets
Capital Markets
Advanced Technology
Advanced Technology
OPM
OPM
International Education
International Education
India
India
China
China
Canada
Canada
Venture Capital
Venture Capital
Bootcamps
Bootcamps
Online learning
Online learning
Notes
Notes
Europe
Europe
Asia
Asia
Africa
Africa
LATAM
LATAM
Brazil
Brazil
Robotics
Robotics
Education in 2030
Education in 2030
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
SDG 17
SDG 17
SDG 16
SDG 16
SDG 15
SDG 15
SDG 14
SDG 14
SDG 13
SDG 13
SDG 12
SDG 12
SDG 11
SDG 11
SDG 10
SDG 10
SDG 9
SDG 9
SDG 8
SDG 8
SDG 7
SDG 7
SDG 6
SDG 6
SDG 5
SDG 5
SDG 4
SDG 4
SDG 3
SDG 3
SDG 2
SDG 2
SDG 1
SDG 1
Climate Tech 1000
Climate Tech 1000
Digital Health 1000
Digital Health 1000
EdTech 1000
EdTech 1000
EdTech
EdTech
Diversity
Diversity
New Zealand
New Zealand
Australia
Australia
United States
United States
Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Environment
Environment
Infrastructure
Infrastructure
Energy
Energy
Climate
Climate
Workforce
Workforce
K12
K12
Higher Education
Higher Education
Education
Education
Early Childhood
Early Childhood
Health
Health