The edtech sector has taken the industry by storm.
The ever increasing interest of VCs and the growing number of startups in the sector is significant enough to show that. The Global Report Predicts EdTech Spend to Reach $252bn by 2020. Education technology is becoming a global phenomenon, and as distribution and platforms scale internationally, the market is projected to grow at 17.0% per annum.
On the other hand, the financial services have been redefined with technology in various ways and have left a huge impact on our lives. Over the last few years the industry has gained a lot of attraction and investors are all up to bet in the niche. The funds are being dumped in the market. According to this post on IT Global, in the first quarter of 2016, the FinTech industry boasted an unprecedented global investment of $5.3 Billion and this trend is showing no signs of slowing down as investors and venture capitalists grapple to find out what’s next. There is no doubting the fact FinTech has taken the world by storm. It has revolutionized the way we bank and the traditional concepts of financial services have been redefined.
The key reason why FinTech was a huge success is because investors and startups were being able to recognize the need of innovation. We, the people want things the easy way. And FinTech has provided that ease in a very well manner. As the demand for digital services and innovation hiked, a lot people were being able to come up with their products and innovative ideas to lure the investors.
The most up-to-date technology as well as the development of technology for the future of FinTech was being served on table to the investors. With the hike in demand for easier financial services group the technology had already made a mark in which new companies were emerging to match investor curiosity.
Why EdTech will see success like FinTech is due to one important reason i.e. the need of digitizing the education. The world is quickly becoming more aware of the digital skills gap among society. Soon enough, digital will be at the core of every industry and that makes it necessary to cater the digital knowledge needs of the students. Advances in educational technology have never been more important in order to provide the next generation of students with the skills they need to be successful in any given sector. Now edtech is moving into the spotlight as the next digitized sector poised to disrupt one of the world’s most established industries. With a market predicted to grow 17% in the next three years, it would appear certain that edtech will be the next Fintech, following the same path to fast-paced success.
In a post on Medium that talks about EdTech becoming the next FinTech it is stated, “There are over 1000 new Ed Tech startups building across Britain and the UK alone. This still occurs even with the implications of the Brexit and other investment factors weighing heavily over top of the startups. Edtech still remains an extremely secure bet amongst many speculation investors because it will remain completely sheltered from the political landscape. Edtech is an opportunity on a worldwide and international stage and as a result. This means that local economies offer little to no effect on changing the overall outcome. Even the local university could stand to profit offering their courses to a worldwide audience are partnering with a worldwide university involved in EdTech.”
Investors have started focusing on the edtech sector as returns seem promising. As mentioned above the reasons remain the need for change. Edtech represents a very digital method of changing settings that have been there for many years. Also, the benefits like increasing access and reach of education is one important reason. Technology is capable of making education more interactive as well as enhances the learning experience with the help of digital products which we can already witness within many institutions who have embraced the change. Educators across the globe are leveraging the power of technology to improve their lessons, reach wider audiences thereby making learning experiences more interactive and enriching for students. As the demand for these types of products increase Ed tech represents a future in making classroom experiences better than ever before.
Another factor that I came across a lot while my research is the competition within the job market.
Edtech is also on the rise because it’s becoming extremely important and almost indispensable for many students. The competition within the job market is quite severe and there is a relative digital skills gap in society. Digital technology has become the core of almost every industry and with educational technology it takes time for the next generation of students to build up the skills they need to have success in a sector as well as generate the qualifications that they need to succeed.
Technology is penetrating in industry as well as human lives in every aspect. The change is fast paced and is redefining every area it gets into. Digital will soon be the core of every industry, every life we come across. All in all, the implication is that the way technology has given a new definition to financial services a.k.a. “FinTech” be prepared to see education flourish into EdTech.
What is your take on the same?
