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Writing about Indonesia is always a humbling experience for this born-and-bred Singaporean. How can I not be awestruck by a country that has a student population of nearly 10 times Singapore’s total population? On macro trends alone, success for an education tech business in Indonesia would seem inevitable!
Yet there are also constant reminders of the difficulties that businesses face. Less than 5% of people who use freemium edtech products become paid users. This week, Indonesia was hit by widespread protests over the introduction of a new law that is meant to attract foreign investment, partly through easing the country’s notoriously restrictive labor laws. Progress seems to come in fits and starts.
The second part of our feature on Indonesia edtech explores the strategies that companies are using to address the unique problems they face in the country. Some of these are decidedly old school: Advertising on television is still the best way to reach older audiences. Investors in the space are interested to see how startups are tapping technology to improve their products and services. Meanwhile, many edtech companies are counseling patience – after all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Watch this space for more coverage of this nascent sector!
— Simon Huang, Tech in Asia journalist
1️. Indonesian edtech’s biggest challenges
The country’s nascent edtech sector is lucrative but hard to tackle, though that hasn’t deterred some startups from entering the space.
2️. Chinese tech giants are hungry for Southeast Asia’s fruits
The demand for imported fresh fruit is on the rise in China, and the country’s ecommerce players are eager to capture rich pickings in Southeast Asia.
3️. After Topica, Vietnam seeks its next edtech breakthrough
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