Mapping Vietnam’s emerging edtech sector

This is the latest version of the article that was first published on February 25, 2021.

This year, Vietnam’s edtech sector has seen renewed interest from global and regional investors, racking up more than US$115 million in funding.

The biggest deal went to Equest Education Group, which bagged US$100 million from US investment major KKR through one of its funds.

Equest’s mega deal is a milestone for the sector, and it comes three years after Topica Edtech Group raised US$50 million series D in 2018. But unlike Topica, Equest has a strong offline presence via its eight campuses, which has 110,000 students across four core segments: K-12, tertiary and vocational, English and digital learning.

See also: After Topica, Vietnam seeks its next edtech breakthrough 

Equest remains an exception and is more of a traditional, private education provider that applies tech.

Most startups in the country are in early stages of development, hoping to become the next Byju’s or Ruangguru of Vietnam. But the hurdles they face are immense. For instance, they have to convince parents who are still skeptical and reluctant to pay for online education services. Edtech companies also have to navigate the complexities and bureaucracies of public schools.

As such, finding the right product-market fit is challenging.

The fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has been ravaging Vietnam since April, resulting in nearly 874,000 cases and over 21,400 deaths to date. The situation has severely disrupted schools and universities at all levels as they scramble to offer remote learning, which remains difficult for millions of students who have limited or no access to the Internet and digital devices.

Unlike India and Indonesia, Vietnam’s edtech sector doesn’t have a clear winner, so it remains attractive to investors. The addressable market is significant, with 16 million students in primary and secondary schools and another 1.7 million in universities. Students and even working adults are all hungry to learn, particularly English, digital competencies, and other work skills that aren’t well-taught at public schools.

Meanwhile, foreign edtech companies have been marching steadily into Vietnam. Some of the biggest names are already present: Snapask, Duolingo, Elsa, Geniebook, Astrid, Ruangguru, to name a few.

Here are the details on the funding rounds that we’ve tracked:

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