• August 6 2021
• 5 mins

Due to the pandemic, some significant shifts are accelerated globally, which pushed most businesses to go digital. It also exposed the situations whereby the economies have been underprepared to handle the pandemic and the impact reflected directly on the education system. The gap between bricks and mortar education and edtech was prevalent for more than a decade. Considering the corporate learning and development sector, the year 2020 was a game-changer. The employers realized the need and relevance to work from home and even learn from home. However, the realization was more at the learners level that their continuous learning is essential even to sustain the career.

The shift of the education ecosystem to the digital landscapes also needs alignment to the national education policy 2020 and creating a massive surge in technology adoption in the education sector. The current year 2021 is labelled as the change and evolution year of edtech whereby the whole institutional ecosystem has adopted a hybrid approach to learning. The world has still not been able to assess and evaluate the pandemic’s overall economic impact and repercussions. However, the careers of professionals are impacted, and unemployment did see an increased level. In turn, this undesirable phenomenon accelerated enrollment to career-oriented programs, reskilling and upskilling with technology.

However, the effects are more significant on unemployment levels, which did see an increase. This has led to an accelerated shift towards Career-oriented learning, up-skilling and reskilling using online platforms. The ubiquitous presence of mobile data and the scalability of high-quality learning using digital platforms enables better quality education. To be delivered across the length and breadth of this country.

People are now developing new skills through digital learning platforms by which the RoI can be measured, and they can secure better employment in the sectors of choice. Considering the players like Talentedge, Upgrad and Simplilearn that found a rush of candidates during the pandemic, the evolution of learning also needs to include practice-oriented digital transformation programs. The applications of AI and ML in EdTech are predicted to grow manifold, and these technologies can automate educational communications, assessments, evaluation feedback with experiential learning. Edtech ecosystems will see ever-growing AI adoption due to the phenomenal leap in nature of developmental programs.

There is a vast and unexplored area of the tech-led education world. In the last 4-5 years, the edtech sector has already attracted an excess of USD 4B of investment, of which Indian company Byju’s has become a global enterprise valued at more than USD 15B. Alongside Byju’s, the other major edtech companies Unacademy, UpGrad, Vedantu, Doubtnut et al. are also acquiring companies with synergies. It is evident that in less than the next decade, the Indian edtech opportunity of USD 30B might be possible. Many more companies are going to dig out ways to invent and implement solutions in education. To facilitate the enhancement and expansion of the edtech sector, MiraiNxt will play a pivotal role in developing their strategy and helping edtech ventures grow with the business and raise funds.

• May 10 2021
• 5 mins

In the last year alone, ed-tech companies in India managed to pick up USD 1.5B-2B dollars in funding. As per the Tracxn report of 2020/2021, India has 6000+ registered ed-tech ventures, of which 300+ are based in Pune. This does not come as a surprise since Pune is considered the country’s education capital. The quantum of funding and the volume of ed-tech companies indicate enough that education appears to be an attractive sector both for founders and investors. The Indian education focussed startups seem to be chasing a $10 Bn Edtech/Education Opportunity. As per the Inc $2 report, the ed-tech market of India is estimated to grow 3.7x in the next five years, from $2.8Bn (2020) to $10.4 Bn (2025). It is an astounding available market size which should be a strong motivation for world-class education technology solutions to see growth in India. If you consider the latest BARC and Nielsen report about the consumption of education content along with the time being spent on the same, it asserts a 25-30% increase in the time spent on education apps in the first three months of lockdown. Furthermore, for a common understanding, edtech does not end with e-learning and test prep. It has multi-faceted problems to solve, and hence technology reflects on impacting multiple avenues of the education value chain.

It is also essential to understand the various forms and factors in which edtech is deployed in the ecosystem. It is a stretch that impacts right from K12 to higher education. The people at large will understand the solutions in these sectors. However, a significant amount of edtech solution development and delivery also happens in the skill development and corporate learning ecosystem. In contrast, ventures like pepstudy.com would be playing in the K12 space. The companies like simulanis.com are leading the edtech learning into the corporate sectors. Also, there is a solid value demonstrated by institutions that have a symbiotic engagement with their alumni. Hence the rise of alumni connecting technology solutions can bring the whole current and past ecosystem together for institutions. 

Next in line are the platforms that facilitate career development and job readiness for various edtech stakeholders. Our association is with one such venture, namely teenzclap.com, which works with colleges to upskill students to be career-oriented more than just being job-ready. A major operational challenge with any decent-sized university is its end-to-end campus management. Here is an opportunity that is being well leveraged by edtech companies that automate the entire campus management processes right from admissions to student exits and claim settlements. Admissions to delivery of programs to placements: the whole cycle is being completed by edtech ventures with easy-to-use professional solutions.

Considering the technologies that edtech companies are leveraging, they are at the forefront of the cutting edge. One can see how augmented, and virtual reality is being deployed or how job matches using artificial intelligence are being done. The use of gamification in K12, Higher ed, and corporate learning is increasing by the day as web apps, audio, and video content are being created and consumed in the number of bytes that one cannot count. Next in line is the evolution of robotics with AI in edtech leveraged by an edtech venture to accelerate learning and development.

There are four enablement areas that edtech has a tangible impact today. Companies have exceptional solutions for admissions management. Next in the process are edtech ventures who facilitate the deployment of the academic program for students to consume the courses. For assessment purposes, the technology advent is seen in the solutions of companies developing new-age technology. Finally, to accentuate the learning, to get a job, or become an entrepreneur, edtech companies play a significant role for the same. 

To sum it up, it is crucial to understand why edtech is successful globally and the haunting question for the Indian ecosystem. Education institutions and mentors of change always back the most successful edtech innovation systems. In India, this responsibility is shouldered by MiraiNxt, pledging to make a substantial impact to scale up edtech ventures from India to the world.

• May 10 2021
• 5 mins

Applying to be a part of a scaleup innovation program is a significant decision for any startup with an MVP in the early stage. The startups need scalable and sustainable business models with limited bandwidth of time. Innovation centres can help in this requirement of doing more in less time, with high impact and velocity. The founders should not believe that the team is too good to sit with mentors and take guidance. Also, it is wrong to assume that an innovation centre is a fast track to stardom or becoming a unicorn immediately. The startups that get into a reliance innovation/incubation centre ecosystem get hugely benefited with

• Cost and time saving: Time is the most precious asset of startup founders in their journey to build something meaningful. Innovation centres like Mirainxt come with support systems such as digital media management, technology development, law firms, patent attorneys, fund-raising material development, to name a few. These services are needed by all early-stage startups and cost high in the open market. The startups enjoy these services pro-bono or at optimum rates when being a part of the incubator. 

• Minimizing errors: Being a part of an innovation centre allows startups to access the best industry experts and advisors from research to launch. The incubators put money and effort to onboard the relevant subject matter experts to help the founders minimize errors and maximize outcomes. It is a fact that often, the first pilot or paying customer for a venture comes due to soft introduction by the incubator and/or the mentors involved. In effect, companies with incubators/innovation centres can enjoy infrastructure, support and training that can be time and money consuming for startups.

• Inspiring environment: A no-brainer, incubators provide an environment that encourages and inspires. In this environment, there is much potential for the cross-pollination of ideas and possible alliances and synergies. Alternatively, co-working spaces and other sandboxed environments can offer an inspiring environment.

• Derisking the funding process: Imagine a startup not knowing how to pitch to investors and, more importantly, to whom? The startups start to spray and pray, which adds to their efforts and increasing frustration levels. Incubators/innovation centres derisk the startup and the investor by curating the right venture to meet the relevant investors. This ensures that both ends get the best out of the time and discussions, eventually leading to a thorough evaluation of the business propositions.  

• Brand Recognition: Being a part of the incubation/innovation centre ensures that the external ecosystem takes the startup seriously. The incubators/innovation centres have the right PR and Marketing strategies to showcase their cohort to the world. With the backing of an incubator/innovation centre, the startups can have a better chance of putting their foot in the door.

A meaningful and impactful incubator/innovation centre focuses on its strength and associated ecosystem development sectors. They offer many benefits, however not every startup can make it through the robust application process. Both the incubator/innovation centre and startups take equal time to evaluate mutual benefits and commit to one another from onboarding to a successful exit.

MiraiNxt, a state of the art innovation centre, offers a strategic high-intensity program to scale up health, education and deep tech companies. Startups are welcome to leverage MiraiNxt for realizing their vision to be a world-class venture. MiraiNxt is housed in an engineering institution with access to ecosystems, funding and resources to support technology development. It can be a startup’s best opportunity to succeed.