Education technology sector got funds boost of $179.5m last year

HYDERABAD: The market potential for startups working in the education technology sector will continue to grow, unlike other sectors such as e-commerce and foodtech, indicate reports. As per the latest report blished by startup rese published by startup research platform Tracxn, the

edtech

sector in India received a total funding of $179.5 M, in 2016. With business models such as 'Language Learning', '

Corporate Learning

', '

Higher Education

', 'K-12' and test preparation, there are more than 3,000 edtech companies in India.The report, titled 'EdTech India Sector Landscape' includes startups working in solutions that help students in learning and teachers in delivery of content like online courses,

language learning

, tutoring and test preparation, school management systems, learning management system, communication platforms, virtual classroom solutions and student resources.

“When we launched in 2013, Chirec Public school was our first customer,“ said

Navin Balan

, founder and managing director of Bangalore-based Vidyartha, a datadriven career counselling platform. “We have noticed that the consumption of our recommended products such as Byju's courses and English speaking courses are especially high in Hyderabad,“ he added. While the interest among parents, in edtech solutions, seems to be on the rise, selling products to schools is a more difficult exercise, say investors. “Many school managements are not very encouraging of edtech products and while many are willing to run pilot projects, when it comes to spending money on buying the product, schools in Hyderabad are always hesitant.This is why the school solutions sector is not very encouraging in the city . I have seen many edtech startups from Hyderabad struggling, to either close deals with schools or due to delayed sales cycles.This is why investors are particularly choosy and careful before pumping money into an edtech startup,“ said

Sanjay Enishetty

, managing director of Hyderabad-based investor group 50K Ventures.

This perhaps explains why the school solutions vertical has received minimum funding, across the country .

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.