The Indian industries have undergone substantial transformations in the past few years. The government’s push through digital India campaigns and increased internet penetration have encouraged sectors and consumers to embrace digitalisation. But who would have thought in the last two years things would kick-off, bringing a huge digital revolution in India?
It did, however, happen. A repercussion of which can also be seen across businesses, especially the newly emerging ones. In the past few years, most of the well-received and well-funded startups were the ones providing digital services. Yes, edtech, healthtech, fintech, and eCommerce enterprises were the top among the most heavily financed startups last year.
Among all, the one that stood out and was on the top was the edtech sector. With a total of 141 deals, the edtech sector received more than $5.7 billion of funding in 2021. We’ve seen a massive increase in the number of edtech startups in the last two to three years, with thousands of new players entering the market and over 3,000 active edtech companies. Because people were confined to their homes due to the pandemic, they realised that online education was the most viable option.
All segments of education, whether K-12, test preparation, or executive education, have recently witnessed a massive increase in demand. Considering India’s massive population there’s a significant opportunity because there is a huge number of people who need to be addressed. Over 500 million people in India fall between the age bracket of 5 to 24 years.
One of the purposes of entrepreneurship is to be solving problems and add value to the ecosystem and here the edtech sector emerged as a boon during the pandemic as there are many problems that it has addressed. One of which is providing quality education to millions of underprivileged children. We are aware of the status of our country’s education system. India is trying to serve a huge underprivileged population with a fragile and trembling infrastructure. Though it is impossible for the government to erase all problems immediately, online education can provide a solution.
Many young edupreneurs have taken the responsibility to solve various problems hindering education in the country. As the internet penetration has increased, the service has expanded across different regions of the country: today a huge chunk of demand is coming from tier II and tier III cities. Inclusive educational platforms have also emerged to cater to specially-abled children providing high-quality educational opportunities to children from different corners of the country. Meanwhile, some companies have also taken up the job to increase tech penetration by distributing devices to strengthen infrastructure for online learning.
Also, as the market has become more competitive, many players are also coming up with new, innovative ideas to make learning more engaging. To help learners learn effectively, educators are now adopting different methods like videos with simplified concepts, as well as gamification, AR, and VR.
As the industry grew, the demand for workers also increased, which led this sector to emerge as a significant job provider in a tough time when every other person was losing their job. According to the IEC report, the Indian edtech sector has emerged as a significant job creator in the last five years and has created over 75,000 jobs for the country. The Indian economy has benefited immensely from the edtech companies. We can proudly say that the edtech industry has made a significant contribution to India’s startup journey.
When compared to traditional classroom-based education, online education saves money and provides easy access to a large number of academic resources from around the world, as well as a greater level of exposure through technology, paving the way for a revolution in education.
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