2017/9/4

“50 Million USD Market”

E-Learning had arrived late, but is blooming fast in Vietnam. In 2015, the country’s E-learning market size was estimated at 50 million USD, quite modest for a country of over 90 million people.

However, its annual growth rate is believed to be around 40% for the period between 2013 and 2018, which is simply enormous and indicating how huge E-learning in Vietnam can become.

Upto August 2017, there are a total of 150 start-ups in the field, notably 80% of which were established after January 2016. Contents offered by E-learning sites are various, but there emerge three major groups:

“Foreign language is the most popular subject”
The 1st group is specialized in foreign languages. English courses are still dominant, but those like Japanese, Korean, Chinease are on the quick rise. Customers of this group is getting considerably younger, thanks to earlier and better access to technology for children.
‘tienganh123.com’ is the biggest foreign langugage E-learning site, having 1.6 millions log-ins per month (tienganh means English). As for Japanese, no particular site really stands out from the crowd, but there are a handful of good ones (‘akira.edu.vn’, ‘tiengnhatonline.edu.vn’)

“Targeting students for University entrance exam”

The 2nd group is dedicated to National University Entrance Examination Preparation, covering school subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Literature, Biology, etc.
The virtually exclusive customers of this group is high school students, whose willingness to pay for educational materials is approaching their life time summit.‘Hocmai.vn’ is the biggest player, recording 1.8 million log-ins per month.

“IT skills for workers”

The 3rd group combines IT and Softskills online education. This group can be considered as ‘younger’ compared to the previous 2 groups, as Vietnamese have just paid more attention to such fields recently.

‘kyna.vn’ is the remarkable skill-building site, offering over 250 courses across topics like business, real estate, baby raising, etc. It claims to be in partnership with around 150 educational experts and institutions in Vietnam and overseas. In 2016, kyna.vn received an investment package of 50 million USD from Cyberagent Ventures (Japan)

Regarding business environment, Vietnam has many favorable factors for the growth of E-learning. To name a few, 4G started to operate in early 2017, making Internet highly approachable for mobile devices. The Government has also built legal framework on E-learning (Circular No. 12/2016/TT-BGDDT on Application of Technology in Online Training).

On the other hand, there are still difficulties lying in the way. According to a survey of 839 respondents by Vietnam Internet User Community Foundation (VNIF), 35% online learners are undermined by tuition fees; 16% struggle to find suitable learning materials.

In conclusion, Vietnam’s E-learning has a massive potential for development. For a country that has for a long time prioritized renovation in education, modern tools always have their chances.

Sources:

1. “Report 2014”, Ambient Insight.
2. “Startup Deals Vietnam 2016”, Topica Institute Founder.
3. Article on Edtech startup

http://baodautu.vn/don-dau-co-hoi-tu-edtech-startup-d63986.html
http://vietnambiz.vn/giao-duc-truc-tuyen-mo-hinh-nao-se-thanh-cong-17056.html

4. Article on Kyna development

http://cafebiz.vn/bi-mat-tang-truong-than-toc-cua-kyna-20160810133337045.chn
http://plo.vn/ho-so-phong-su/cha-de-truong-hoc-truc-tuyen-kynavn-658840.html
http://dantri.com.vn/suc-manh-so/quy-nhat-dau-tu-trieu-do-vao-du-an-khoi-nghiep-giao-duc-20160416061314752.htm

5. “Ministry of Education and Training Report”, MOET.

http://ncif.gov.vn/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?newid=18779
http://www.fetp.edu.vn/cache/MPP8-513-C03V-Chi%20tieu%20cho%20giao%20duc%20o%20Viet%20Nam–Do%20Thien%20Anh%20Tuan_CV15-13-87.0-2016-03-16-15265052.pdf

6. “Nielsen Report 8/2016” Nielsen
7. “Circular 12/2016/TT-BGDĐT” MOET

https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Cong-nghe-thong-tin/Thong-tu-12-2016-TT-BGDDT-Ung-dung-cong-nghe-thong-tin-quan-ly-dao-tao-qua-mang-2016-309796.aspx