edtech percent also report students redseer users

India’s edtech market will touch $3.5B by 2022: RedSeer and Omidyar NetworkIndia reportThe coronavirus pandemic has been a watershed moment for India’s edtechsector. The lockdown and fear of COVID-19 spread has taken schools, colleges,and educational institutes online.A report by RedSeer Consulting and Omidyar Network India has mapped thegrowth in usage from 2019 to 2020. It revealed that edtech users – both paidand free unique users – in K12 and post K-12 segment have seen an increase,with the user base doubling from 45 million to 90 million. Image credit: Vigesh* * ** * * There also has been a 50 percent increase in time spent, which has gone upfrom 60 minutes to 90 minutes. The report also noted a 40 percent increase inwillingness to pay and a massive 83 percent jump in the paid user base. According to the report, online education offerings across Classes 1 to 12 areprojected to increase 6.3 times by 2022, to create a $ 1.7 billion market. Thepost-K12 market is set to grow 3.7 times to touch $1.8 billion. This willcreate meaningful opportunities for incumbent players and space for multiplenew startups. > Namita Dalmia, Director, Investments Omidyar Network India, said, “The> lockdown has provided massive tailwinds to the growing edtech space. Edtech> offerings have helped millions of students across the country to continue> their learning from home. These solutions are better, more convenient, and> affordable alternatives for students and parents.” She added that the lockdown had also spurred growth in the B2B space where,unlike earlier, schools, colleges, and tuition centres were aggressivelyadopting tech-based solutions. Data: RedSeer and Omidyar Network* * ** * *## Need for upskilling is starkly visibleThe report pointed out that issues of quality and relevance affected primary,secondary, and higher education. With several professional lives impacted,edtech players can play a vital role in ensuring job security by making higherand technical education more accessible (for people who could not pursue it intheir formative years), and facilitating upskilling of working professionals. The report said that according to Global Competitiveness Report (GCR), one ofthe most well-respected databanks on economic prosperity, published by theWorld Economic Forum (WEF), in 2019 India ranked 68th among 141 countries,down 10 places from 2018. Although the country fares well on parameters of market size, innovation, andmacroeconomic stability, it lags substantially in workforce skills (107thplace), which includes vocational training, digital skills, and ease offinding trained employees. India also ranks 120th in information andcommunication technology (ICT) adoption, despite being a burgeoning internetmarket. The internet—and, by extension, online education—can catalyse improvements inthe kind and quality of skills imparted. Edtech for adults—whether in the formof vocational skills, tertiary or higher education, or skilling for managerialgrowth—can make India’s workforce more competitive. > “In the past few months, edtech has seen massive uptick in user adoption.> Furthermore, inertia with respect to edtech is slowly fading away among both> institutes and parents. Education is a complex space with differentiation> possible on multiple levels – we are likely to see multiple winners emerge,”> a RedSeer spokesperson said.Data: RedSeer and Omidyar Network So, what are the key changes we will see in edtech in a post- COVID-19 world?### The presence of multiple winnersDifferentiation will rest chiefly on the broad verticals of syllabus,language, pricing, pedagogy, offline support, and teacher training. India’s current edtech addressable population of 150 million students cutsacross city tiers, income groups, language proficiencies, and curricula. Themultitude of sub-segments and their varying preferences will make it lessprobable for edtech companies to cater to large swathes of the population. The levers will be across pricing, offering, coverage, delivery, offlinesupport elements, and teacher training services.### Innovation around pricing and salesThe report said pricing innovation will be key for wider paid adoption,particularly as edtech reaches smaller towns and lower income segments. Theyearly price innovation will touch $100-$150, will increase addressable marketby 3x, and lead to wider paid adoption.### The rise of partnershipsPartnership building will be key for edtech players to win varied customers.Institutional and cross-sector partnerships will enable wider reach as edtechplayers attempt to expand their user base. There needs to be a push towardsexpansion to cater to lower tier cities and lower income groups, representingclose to 70 percent of the addressable student population. Only 10 percent ofthe current student population comprises active edtech users (free and paid). The partnerships include Indian language platforms for increased reach. Thesehave approximately over 300 million monthly active users and close to 70percent users in Tier II cities. Device partnerships are also needed as accessto device is a key bottleneck for edtech adoption among lower income groups.Partnerships with institutes will increase reach.### Investment in original contentInvestment in original production and/ or acquisition will be key –particularly for the user base with lower grades and in the Indian languagesegments. Edtech currently lags in lower grades and in Tier II, which is bigon Indian language usage.### Edtech adoption and promotion by schoolsThe inertia among parents and schools will likely fade and lead to newopportunities. Of the total population size, close to 65 percent of studentsgo to government schools and close to 85 percent of the remaining set go toaffordable private schools – representing close to 15 percent studentsattending institutes having limited tech-readiness. > While COVID-19 has pushed the education industry to focus on online, it has> also exposed the lack of tech-readiness among schools. Less than five> percent of students attended institutes with required tech infrastructure to> deliver remote tutoring. This is an opportunity for many startups.* * ** * *## What can startups do?> “The massive adoption of edtech has also showcased infrastructure> constraints due to poor connectivity and low-end devices. It has also> demonstrated the need for affordable offerings to drive wider adoption.> Entrepreneurs should look to build solutions that address these challenges,> keeping in mind the end goal of improved learning outcomes. This will help> serve students across income segments,” Namita said.The report added that startups will have their task cut out for them. “Startups must focus on better onboarding, student engagement, and deliveringon outcomes through their products. This will ensure that the uptick isretained (or churn is minimal) after restrictions are lifted. Along withinvestment in content production (particularly for users from younger gradesand vernacular segments), edtech players will also need to innovate on salesand pricing to cater to a wider student base,” the RedSeer spokesperson said. The focus in a post-COVID-19 world will be on limiting customer churn. Thereport added that 40 percent of customers expect they will stop using edtechafter restrictions are lifted, which will lead to a fall in time spent andengagement on edtech platforms. > Startups will also need to work on improving customer onboarding and> experience. “The lack of formal onboarding and expectation mismatch has led> to a drop in NPS Levels across customer cohorts during COVID-19 (compared to> earlier),” the report said. To combat this, startups will need to focus on sales innovation, pricinginnovation, an expansion in user base, and Indian language content. (Edited by Teja Lele Desai)