Are Vietnam’s edtech startups ripe for take-off?

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Hello readers,

I’ll always have a soft spot for my university years. Though brief – I completed my degree in just 1.5 years – my time in Melbourne was colored by twice-daily coffee runs, impromptu suburb explorations, and navigating the city center’s gridded streets to get to nearby cafes, parks, and art galleries. As students resume their local or overseas studies amid the pandemic, others are seeking out convenient alternatives through online learning platforms.

Today we look at:

• The funding rounds in Vietnam’s emerging edtech sector
• A plant-based meat startup’s US$10m funding
• Other newsy highlights such as Flipkart’s shift to EVs, and Grab’s hiring spree

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Is Vietnam’s edtech sector on the up and up?

In 2019, Vietnamese students contributed nearly US$1 billion to the US economy – a clear sign that education is something Vietnamese parents would willingly shell out big bucks for. But with the Covid-19 pandemic having disrupted many offline education plans, edtech startups in the country now have an opportunity to fill the gap.

• Vietnam’s key player remains to be Topica Edtech Group, which raised US$50 million in its series D funding round back in 2018. Other smaller, local edtech players are struggling with a lack of funding and finding their product-market fit.
• Foreign edtech firms want a slice of the pie, too. The likes of Duolingo and Snapask are seizing the opportunity to capture Vietnam’s 16 million-strong market of students in primary and secondary schools, and another 1.7 million students in universities.
• In 2019, edtech player Kidtopi scored a US$3.5 million investment from Topica Edtech Group, adding to the seven edtech deals that year that totaled US$18.05 million. Comparably, 2020 was a lukewarm year, with just three edtech deals totalling US$700,000.

Read more: The players shaping Vietnam’s emerging edtech sector

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

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