With the universities going online in India, the education scenario is set to change tremendously, making the country’s growth rate of enrollment at par with that of the United States of America and Europe, according to a report.
Total enrollment in online education will grow at 33.6 per cent CAGR and cross 2.12 crore by 2022.
UGC regulations have allowed universities to offer online programs,
which were not legal in India till now. This, combined with the
continued government efforts would help make education available to many
who are willing to pursue it but lacked time and access.
The enrollment in Online Degree or Diploma Programs will experience 14.5 per cent CAGR growth and will reach 63.63 lakh by 2022, according to a recent report titled ‘Trends and opportunities in the online learning market’ released by Schoolguru Eduserve (a TeamLease group company). This growth in enrolment will become comparable to that of the United States of America and Europe where it is 16 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, the report added.
Not just the higher online education, but the whole gamut of online
education ecosystem including formal degree re-skilling programs, will
see an exponential growth, the report added.
Total enrollment in online education will grow at 33.6 per cent CAGR and cross 2.12 crore by 2022. The online re-skilling and certification market (for the repair and upgrade) will reach Rs 3,333 crore by 2022.
Noting that there has been a rapid evolution in the field online
education over the last five years, the report expects the industry to
soon enter the era of Virtual and Augmented Reality at the learner-end
and AI and machine learning at the back-end.
However, the report noted several challenges faced by the online
education sector such as language familiarity, high fees, Lengthy
duration of the course and enrolment procedure, unavailability of
qualified online instructors, inadequate student-faculty interactions.
According to the report, some of the hindrances that the online education sector is facing are unavailability of qualified online instructors, inadequate student-faculty interactions, duration of the course, lengthy enrollment procedure and high fees.
Online education is not only a growing industry, but is an effective
model to address the challenges of cost, equity, and employability in
our education system and help the industry to prepare, repair and
upgrade of its workforce, CEO and Founder, Schoolguru Eduserve Pvt. Ltd
Shantanu Rooj said. Online learning has the potential to increase the
gross-enrollment ratio (GER) rates from the current 25 per cent to 30
per cent and if blended with on-job learning, can help improve the
employability of our youth in India dramatically, he added.
Tags: CSE, edtech, india, online education, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in betterU Education Corp | Comments Off on BetterU Education Corp. $BTRU.ca – As universities go online, education landscape set to change; growth to match US, Europe #Edtech $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, April 24th, 2019
BetterU (BTRU:TSXV) has been taking some heat in 2019 for delays of a very significant financing, which quite frankly has been out of their hands. However, while funders get themselves sorted out, BTRU has been on the move in a big way with new content partners, updating their product offering with some head snapping features and the addition of some great personnel. Specifically, Gurmit Singh, Former Managing Director of Yahoo India and CEO Forbes India has entered into an agreement to support BTRU.
Watch this video interview with Company CEO, Brad Loiselle to get the full story about what has happened in 2019 and the exciting things to to look forward to for the remainder of the year.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 8:47 AM on Tuesday, April 23rd, 2019
Former Managing Director of Yahoo India and CEO Forbes India enters into agreement to support betterU
Mr. Singh comes to betterU with over 20 years of experience, including most recently as the Managing Director of Yahoo! India Pvt. Ltd. (formerly known as Yahoo! Inc.).
OTTAWA, April 23, 2019 — betterU Education Corp. (the “Company†or “betterUâ€) is pleased to announce that Mr. Gurmit Singh through his firm DAUWAU will work as a consultant in order to support the Company’s efforts in providing access to education across India.
Mr. Singh comes to betterU with over 20 years of experience,
including most recently as the Managing Director of Yahoo! India Pvt.
Ltd. (formerly known as Yahoo! Inc.). Mr. Singh managed Yahoo!’s
business in India and was responsible for its growth in the country
since 2012. Prior to this, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of
Forbes India at Network 18. During his career, he held many
leadership roles across consumer products, music, entertainment and
media sectors, working for companies such as Sony Music, Hindustan
Times, India Today Group, Rajshri Media, Marico Industries and Network
18.
As India continues to grow and evolve, education plays one of the
most critical roles in the country’s success. Access to quality
education and skills development is one of the country’s key priorities.
Currently skill initiatives such as the Government’s ‘Skills India’
push has been working to solve the skilling of over 150 million people
across all sectors. Mr. Singh, having overseen the growth of Yahoo!
India, has first-hand experience with the high level of content
consumption in India. After exiting from his role at Yahoo!, Mr. Singh
initiated more in-depth research into the education market, which led
him to betterU. “I was pleasantly surprised to hear of the efforts
betterU has been making in India. I believe that what they have been
building could pioneer a shift in access to education that could support
everyone everywhere. This is only possible by bringing together as many
partners that betterU has been able to accomplish. When Brad Loiselle,
CEO of betterU and I first spoke, I was excited to not only learn more,
but to offer my support in helping them get their company more known,†said Mr. Singh.
Online education in India continues to grow at an exponential rate
and according to a report by Google and KPMG, by 2021 the Indian online
learning market will reach close to $2 billion in revenues. UNESCO
stated that by 2030 there will be a shortage of over 65 million teachers
globally. This will have a significant impact on the world’s ability to
provide access to quality education unless the world’s educators come
together to solve this problem. “betterU has been focused on this
problem for many years and I was thrilled that someone with Gurmit’s
experience saw the value in what we have been building for India. My
team and I are looking forward to working with Gurmit and advancing
betterU’s nation efforts in India,†said Brad Loiselle, President and CEO, betterU.
betterU, a global education-to-employment platform, aims to provide
access to quality education from around the world to foster growth and
opportunity to those who want to better their lives. The company plans
to bridge the prevailing gap in the education and job industry and
enhance the lives of its prospective learners by developing an
integrated education-to-employment ecosystem. betterU’s offerings can be
categorized into several broad functions: to complement school programs
with flexible KG-12 programs preparing children for next stage of
education, to provide access to global educational opportunities from
leading educators, to foster an exceptional educational environment by
providing befitting skills that lead to a better career, to bridge the
gap between one’s existing education and prospective job requirement by
training them and lastly, to connect the end user to various job
opportunities.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements and
information, which may involve risks and uncertainties. The results or
events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual
results or events. Factors that might cause a difference include, but
are not limited to, competitive developments, risks associated with
betterU’s growth, the state of the financial markets, regulatory risks
and other factors. There can be no assurance or guarantees that any
statements of forward-looking information contained in this release will
prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all
subsequent written and oral statements containing forward-looking
information are based on the estimates and opinions of management on the
dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this
notice. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, betterU
disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future
events or otherwise. Readers should not place undue reliance on any
statements of forward-looking information that speak only as of the date
of this release. Further information on betterU’s public filings,
including their most recent audited consolidated financial statements,
are available at www.sedar.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, betterU Education Corp. Brad Loiselle, CEO
Tags: CSE, edtech, india, online education, stocks, tsx, tsx-v Posted in betterU Education Corp | Comments Off on Gurmit Singh, Former Managing Director of #Yahoo India and CEO #Forbes #India enters into agreement to support betterU $BTRU.ca $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 3:35 PM on Monday, April 22nd, 2019
SPONSOR:Â Betteru Education Corp. Connecting global leading educators to the mass population of India. BetterU Education has ability to reach 100 MILLION potential learners each week. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V
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Bringing edtech solutions to the next half billion
As entrepreneurs ride the internet wave to build and provide
disruptive edtech solutions, it is important to remember that we’re only
just scratching the surface with its possibilities.
Today, there are about 260 million students in K12 schools and 30 million in higher education institutions
Further, there are 75 million children in the 3-6 year early childhood category, while at the other end of the age spectrum there are hundreds of millions of working professionals in need of constant upskilling due to the evolving nature of their jobs.
By Namita Dalmia
Today, there are about 260 million students in K12 schools and 30
million in higher education institutions. Further, there are 75 million
children in the 3-6 year early childhood category, while at the other
end of the age spectrum there are hundreds of millions of working
professionals in need of constant upskilling due to the evolving nature
of their jobs.
Families rely on education as a gateway to opportunity and a
meaningful life. Hence, 40% of K12 students go to private schools and
one-fourth students, from both government and private schools, opt for
after-school tuitions. Despite this, learning and employability outcomes
remain poor. Only 26% of Grade 5 students can do a simple division
(ASER 2016), 38% of youth in age 14-18 can apply mathematics to the
real-world problem of calculating ‘discount’ (ASER 2017), and 56% of
employers continue to report talent shortage (Manpower Group 2018).
However, it isn’t all bad news. India’s increasingly mobile-first
outlook offers the solution. In July 2018, 390 million Indians were
consuming nearly 8GB internet data each month. Over the next five years,
half a billion more will come online for the first time due to
declining internet prices and improving connectivity. Given the
education outcomes gap and India’s growth in mobile penetration,
education technology or edtech provides us a tool to level the field.
But in order to capitalise on this opportunity, edtech entrepreneurs
will have to build trust with the users, just like many other sectors
have—for example, bill payments, travel and online shopping. Over the
last few years, we have learnt the following ways in which edtech can
overcome some of these trust issues:
Rooting in sound, holistic pedagogy: Great teachers focus on deep
conceptual learning, real-life applications, personalised feedback and
continuous motivation. While most edtech provides some of these, they
miss out on other crucial elements. These solutions then rely on
successful implementation—at home by parents or in-class by teachers,
which is often lacking. Vedantu—a full-stack, live teaching
solution—bridges this gap by combining the skills of a great teacher
with an AI-personalised platform for individual learning support and
providing an academic mentor for motivational support.
Keeping users at centre: Any edtech solution must keep both teachers
and students at the centre of the solution. For a decade, a large amount
of content has been created and made available but has failed to see
significant pull from users. Doubtnut, a learning app, on the other hand
sees organic adoption and engagement with its doubt resolution feature
that solves pain point of students when they get stuck solving tricky
problems.
Linking & ensuring outcomes: Exam results and competitive
examinations ranks are yardsticks that help parents and schools to
measure outcomes. Offline players like tuition classes have created
brands on the back of the outcomes. Edtechs have surfaced but need to
accelerate outcomes in order to win in the long run. Similarly,
upskilling programmes for working professionals, English language
learning for vocational learners and coding boot camps for university
students can demonstrate success through job placements or increased
wages.
Going beyond ‘academic’ outcomes: Developing competencies like
critical thinking and creativity, and mindsets such as grit and empathy
are vital to quality learning and crucial for learners to succeed as the
workforce of the future. There is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to
build solutions that focus on building 21st century skills and
integrating these in the pedagogy of academic subjects. Code.org is an
example of a platform for building logic, creativity, algorithmic
thinking skills by teaching students how to code.
Optimising pricing: Edtech sold direct to learners will eventually
need to replace offline purchases and not just remain supplemental in
order to create value through monetisation. It must reduce the burden on
both parents’ wallets and students’ time and so a full-stack solution
has higher potential than a fragmented offering. Moreover, offering
trials or small-size purchase options before a full purchase is a useful
strategy to break trust barriers with first-time customers.
Building cultural relevance: A majority of learners are comfortable
in vernacular or bilingual medium of instructions, even when they go to
“English-medium†schools. Platforms like Khan Academy, DIKSHA, Doubtnut
cater to this need. Besides localising content offerings, edtech
entrepreneurs should adopt relevant UI/UX and product flow strategies
that will work with their target segments.
As education entrepreneurs ride the internet wave to build and
provide disruptive edtech solutions, it is important to remember we’re
only just scratching the surface with its possibilities. But there’s no
doubt that the education sector is ready more than ever for disruption
at scale.
The author is principal, Investments, Omidyar Network India, an investment firm focused on social impact
E-learning platforms are changing the Indian education landscape by addressing the demand-supply gap of both students as well as corporate employees by dispensing personalised learning outcomes, experts say.
Online learning has widened the scope of education and transcended it beyond classroom boundaries.
With high internet penetration in the last two years, it has taken over the traditional methods not just in the urban landscape but also in rural areas. The education system is evolving at a very fast pace, online education platform upGrad co-founder and MD Mayank Kumar said.
“With industries directly connecting with e-learning institutions
like ours, content has never been so up-to-date. All this put together
makes e-learning platforms complete, and students and working
professionals future-ready, in a matter of months,” he said.
Kumar noted that e-learning penetration in corporations is
increasing, regardless of the company’s size. Since class-based training
is more expensive, proportionately, for small and medium-sized firms,
these firms are increasingly recognising e-learning as a convenient and
cost-effective mode.
According to a report by KPMG, the Indian online education industry
will grow from 1.6 million users in 2016 to 9.6 million users by 2021.
“In the current scenario, professionals will be required to re-skill
themselves every 3-4 years to remain relevant in their evolving job
roles,” said Zairus Master, CEO, Shine Learning.com, which gives access
to certification courses from top global educational service providers.
At this scale, e-learning platforms are the only way forward.
Professionals will need to equip themselves with relevant skills before
their current skills become obsolete. Moreover, the government is
adopting a series of measures to bring a technological revolution to
accentuate e-learning which will ultimately lead to a major shift in the
Indian education sector, experts added.
“E-learning platforms are bringing a measurable difference in
students’ engagement and performance. It is reducing gaps in the
delivery of education and giving a new dimension to the education
space,” Pearson India Managing Director Vikas Singh said.
Chegg eyes India for next level growth, aims to cash in on edtech boom
Santa Clara-based education technology (edtech) major Chegg is eyeing India for its next level of growth.
Company is studying the market, including other edtech firms, to gauge the feasibility of starting operations in the country.
Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, it is a major player in the connected learning or online education space.
It has a subscription-based model for college students, offering
study help, writing and learning tools, tutoring and text book rental.
Currently, India is one of the biggest markets for Chegg for
talent and content acquisition, and is employing more than 500 people
for the same. In addition to its full-time employees, they also have a
network of 80,000 qualified experts and students.
“For us, Chegg India is
the hub of content and talent. Also, a chunk of our back end
engineering teams that power our technology platform are based out of
India. It remains one of the most attractive markets beyond the US, and
we will continue to evaluate options,†said Nathan Schultz, president of
learning services at Chegg.
The company said that it has over 3.1 million paid subscribers in the US, an increase of 38 per cent year-on-year.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:04 AM on Monday, April 8th, 2019
SPONSOR:Â Betteru Education Corp. Connecting global leading educators to the mass population of India. BetterU Education has ability to reach 100 MILLION potential learners each week. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V
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EdTech platforms paving the way for quality education in India
DECCAN CHRONICLE EdTech platforms have reimagined the education landscape by making learning more student-centric and engaging.
EdTech platforms making learning interactive and accessible to all
EdTech platforms have reimagined the education landscape by making learning more student-centric and engaging.
24×7 accessibility
Personalized approach
The advent of learning apps, video tutorials and peer-to-peer discussion portals has not only enabled students to take ownership of their learning, but also bolster their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.
Up until the 2000s, a standard classroom in India included two common
components – the teacher giving lectures standing in front of the
blackboard and students passively listening while taking down notes.
This rigid pedagogical approach was followed for decades, leaving little
to no scope for interactive learning. India’s dated education system,
however, has undergone major transformations in the past few years. With
educators and policymakers finally realizing the importance of digital
learning, top educational institutes across the country are now turning
to EdTech platforms. According to a 2016 report by Google and KPMG, the
EdTech industry in India is expected to touch almost USD 2 billion by
2021. The report further stated that the growth will be impelled by the
rising number of paid users subscribed to the e-learning portals. The
findings clearly indicate that a shift is taking place; students are
opting for internet-based smart learning over classroom-confined
learning. For instance, personalized learning app Toppr has achieved a
seven-fold increase in its user-base within two years.
EdTech platforms making learning interactive and accessible to all
EdTech platforms have reimagined the education landscape by making
learning more student-centric and engaging. The advent of learning apps,
video tutorials and peer-to-peer discussion portals has not only
enabled students to take ownership of their learning, but also bolster
their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. This explains why
both they have embraced tech-enabled learning tools with open arms to
acquire additional knowledge outside the classroom.
24×7 accessibility
While multiple factors have contributed to the EdTech boom in India,
accessibility is the primary reason why digital learning is becoming
commonplace. Thanks to the increased usage of smartphones and the
internet, students can get 24×7 access to study materials, notes and
qualified mentors from the comfort of their homes. Moreover, EdTech
platforms also allow them to attend live lectures. This feature can be
particularly beneficial for those unable to attend the class in person.
Needless to say, the round-the-clock accessibility has helped thousands
of Indian students who often find it futile to ask questions inside
their overcrowded classrooms.
Breaking geographical barriers
The scope for higher education is limited in small towns and rural
parts of India. Especially, the public education sector is not
well-equipped to support high-potential and ambitious students. To
address this issue, EdTech companies have come forward with their
extensive offerings that range from free online classes to proper
guidance. In fact, there are many e-learning portals that allow students
to take mock tests and self-assess themselves.
Personalized approach
Back in the 90s, most educational institutes followed the
one-size-fits-all, rote-based method of learning. While it may have been
effective at that time, the requirements have changed. Today, a
learner-centric pedagogy that focuses on the individual’s strengths and
weaknesses is the need of the hour. Given the pressing issues like
skills-gap and low-employability rate in India, a personalized learning
approach can help students gain a better understanding of a subject.
New-age EdTech platforms incorporate advanced algorithms to a student’s
behaviour and then suggest questions appropriate for their level, slowly
raising the difficulty until they meet their learning goals. This, in
turn, enhances the overall learning experience as well the performance
of students.
Audio-visual learning
Numerous studies have shown that audio-visual learning facilitates
improved understanding and higher retention of facts. 88 per cent of
parents and 84 per cent of teachers seek digital, video-based content to
supplement what is being taught inside classrooms, as per a Digital
Education Survey conducted by Deloitte in 2016. Students, too, are
relying on EdTech platforms to get access to video-based learning
modules to clear their concepts.
EdTech platforms have undeniably changed the face of India’s
education sector. These changes have worked in favour of students who
now have the liberty to learn at their own pace, self-evaluate and
introspect.
The Startup On A Mission To Create A Truly O2O Edtech Ecosystem
According to a study conducted by KPMG and Google, India’s online education market will grow to $1.96 billion by 2021.
Online to Offline or O2O segment in India is heating up with Reliance planning to foray into e-commerce backed by its 7500+ offline stores and Paytm scaling down its Paytm Mall to focus on the O2O space, led by its acquisition of NearBuy.
Bengaluru: The Online to Offline or O2O segment in India is heating up with Reliance planning to foray into e-commerce backed by its 7500+ offline stores and Paytm scaling down its Paytm Mall to focus on the O2O space, led by its acquisition of NearBuy.
A recent report by The Boston Consulting Group pegged 5% of volume
and 16% of value of purchases in the Indian retail space to O2O
channels. The Indian customer is now smartphone savvy and uses the
online world for discovery but prefers an offline experience before
buying, especially in high ticket segments. The trend is clear with all
major players now having offline presence, across every segment such as
fashion (Myntra, YepMe), furniture (UrbanLadder, PepperFry), kids
(FirstCry), opticals (LensKart), jewellery (CaratLane),fitness
(Cure.fit) and more.
Education, especially outsourced to help for K-12 parents, has one of
the greatest needs for an O2O experience but that remains largely
untapped. According to a study conducted by KPMG and Google, India’s
online education market will grow to $1.96 billion by 2021. However, the
average rate of completion of online courses is less than 10%. Hence,
there is a strong need for an offline learning centre with a teacher or a
coach to help in learning and doubt solving.
The sweet spot in outsourced learning help lies in the Blended
Approach of digital content with offline consumption. PlanetSpark, one
of India’s fastest growing edtech startups is working on this huge O2O
opportunity in the K-8 edtech space. The company has developed highly
engaging and gamified digital learning content for children that can be
consumed at any of its offline experience centres across the country,
thus providing a seamless learning experience.
The parents discover the content through PlanetSpark’s free learning
app loaded with thousands of learning games, learning cartoons and
quizzes. “After parents discovers us online through our app, they have
the option to take up a premium learning plan or experience the learning
content at any of our experience centres in the presence of a
PlanetSpark certified teacher. Many parents opt for a classroom learning
and digital content plan. However, a visit to the offline experience
centre also helps parentsin decision making for the purchase of the ‘at
home’ digital planâ€, said Kunal Malik, Co-Founder of PlanetSpark.
An O2O (online to offline) strategy has helpedPlanetSpark to optimize
students’ experience. The students can learn at home using digital
content through a PlanetSpark ‘child safe’ tablet or a mobile app. They
can then visit their nearest experience centre to get mentorship and
support from a certified teacher.
“We operate in two models. First, we have home based learning
centres, completely managed by our top teachers. Second, we have
partnered with several space-sharing companies to lease safe and
asset-light shared learning spaces to set up a PlanetSpark experience
centre that can accommodate 50-100 students while keeping the capex
minimal. We have already set-up over 300 experience centres and are now
live in 7 cities across India. We are on a rapid expansion mode and aim
to be the largest player in the O2O edtech space by the end of 2019.â€,
says Maneesh Dhooper, Co-Founder of Planet Spark.
Backed by FIITJEE, India’s largest Education company, PlanetSpark
will use the funds to aggressively grow its online learners to 5 million
and its offline experience centres across 5 more cities.
How online education is leveraging AI to offer greater benefits?
Online education has managed to reform classrooms and teaching methods.
Artificial Intelligence has proven its role in various industries including manufacturing, healthcare and education. AI can bring unimaginable transformation.
Online education has managed to reform classrooms and teaching methods. Yet expecting to see true disruption of education. Artificial Intelligence has proven its role in various industries including manufacturing, healthcare and education. AI can bring unimaginable transformation.
The online education model simply paved over the older methods with
technology, utilizing AI with advanced algorithms, provide adaptive
learning. CiOL spoke to Diwakar Chittora, CEO & Founder, Intellipat
to understand the education sector and how AI is helping students to
gain most knowledge possible.
How AI adoption can change online education?
AI has automated the industry to a great extent, helping both
students and teachers in gaining the most out the immense opportunity,
all while democratizing education amongst all. While they focus the
learning outcome of the student, helping students gain the most
knowledge possible, for teachers, they provide an in-depth analysis on
how to improve their learning delivery and ways, thereby empowering
educators to maximize their skill set.
What are the key security hurdles for online education Industry?
Online education was initially, in dire needs of security awareness
because of the very nature of its structure. Being entirely online
encompasses the administration process, making it liable to sensitive
information. Now, with the addition of AI into the system, the security
gaps are being bridged and the framework is being bolstered with quality
protection.
Which online certification has higher interest? And its future scope?
In the current job scenario where the value of a candidate depends
upon an impactful CV, a relevant certification can add the much required
USP into a lifeless resume. In our endless interaction with students,
we have seen the trio of Data Science, Machine Learning and Artificial
Intelligent being the high points of interest.
Also cloud certifications such as AWS, DevOps, Azure and for
programming languages, Python are high in demand by both learners and
recruiting organization. This interest is not unfounded- Data Science,
along with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, has become
crucial, owing to its role in improving business and decision makings,
while providing the biggest edge over the competitors.
Predictions for online education industry
The whole market is improving year by year, with a CAGR increase of
approximately 10-15 % boost and an upcoming boost 15-20% to be seen.
Now, the present year will see a further rise in the demand of Data
scientists, in integral positions of the business framework.
Apart from being the leading software producer of the world, India
has risen to become the leading generator and provider of IT- empowered
engineers, who creating an impact on how the world conducts business.
All this, coming together will empower the system creating ripples in
the framework of education.
India’s edtech ecosystem, ruled by the likes of BYJU’s, UpGrad,
Simplilearn, Toppr, Vedantu, Great Learning, and Unacademy, has raised
millions of dollars in VC funding over the past five years. But it’s not
only Indian startups that are keen to take a bite out of the $215 billion education pie in the country;
international platforms are also eyeing a slice. In fact, Poland-based
startup Brainly has quietly been making waves over the past two years.
Brainly was founded by Michal Borkowski, Lukasz Haluch, and Tomasz
Kraus in Krakow in 2009. The startup has raised $38.5 million (the most
recent round being Series B) from seven investors, including Naspers (it
also funded India’s first edtech unicorn BYJU’s).
Catching up with YourStory in Bengaluru, Co-founder and CEO
Michal recollects that it was a different world when Brainly was
launched, with not many global edtech companies, and little investment
from VCs. The entrepreneur trio, however, was willing to risk it all.
Michal, who has a degree in corporate finance, recounts, “My parents,
who were small-scale entrepreneurs, encouraged me to take risks.
Their motto was: if you are facing a tough decision, fast
forward five years. Even if you fail, would you prefer to fail and
learn, or never to take the risk?â€
The decision to take the risk seems to have paid off. Brainly is now present in over 35 countries, with more than 150 million active users. It claims to be the world’s largest social learning community for students.
In India, Brainly has more than 15 million active users, the same as India’s first and only edtech unicorn BYJU’s.
Brainly says it has witnessed 200 percent annual growth since it
entered India in 2016, and claims to be the number one education website
in India in terms of number of visits it gets. Indian students who use
the platform comprise 42 percent secondary and 39 percent higher
secondary grade students. However, Brainly is not monetising in India
right now. Michal stresses,
“We are in the growth stage; we want to reach every student in the world, and India specifically. We are not focusing on profit; we are still working on our business model.â€
In Asia, Brainly is also present in Indonesia and Philippines, two
countries that Michal claims have great push for education and a
sizeable population to scale up.
How Brainly works
Brainly aims to help students with curriculum-related, specific questions,
unlike most edtech startups in India that focus on test preparations
and personalised learning programmes. Students connect to their peers to
help strengthen their skills, from mathematics and science to history
and more.
Michal reminisces that as a teenager, he found essays hard to write,
but was too embarrassed to ask for help. “It was frustrating for me. In
the online world, the process is much easier.â€
Lukasz Haluch, Co-founder of Brainly, is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor.
A question from a student of Class 10 can be answered by another 10th grader or a 12th grader. Michal
claims students all over the world have one common trait – they help
each other in doing homework and answering each other’s doubts.
“By engaging students into that collaboration online, we take every
question and answer, and store it in our knowledge base. So in a way, we
are extracting the smartness of every child who uses Brainly. We make
it accessible to everyone, no matter where they are or how much money
they have,†he adds.
To ensure the quality of interactions and accuracy of answers,
Brainly moderates all the content with their own algorithm. Users can
also rate the answers.
In addition, experts also review the knowledge base to check the
quality. If they are not satisfied with the quality of the answer, they
ask the person who gave that answer to improve it (with explanation). If
there is still no improvement, Brainly removes that answer from the
database, Michal says.
India’s push for education
India focuses greatly on education in general, which means the rise
of edtech companies is not surprising. Michal says Brainly has been
looking at the India market since 2014.
“The market is huge in India. People here are more willing to pay for
education compared to most other markets; the highest spends from
parents’ salaries often go into their children’s education. There is
huge pressure on students to succeed. Using Brainly expands their
knowledge and reduces frustration,†he points out.
In Brainly’s survey of more than 10,000 users in India (in January
2019), more than 50 percent students said their schools were not helping
them enough to prepare for their careers and the real world, and hence
they needed additional resources. They were striving to attain a deeper
understanding of subjects, and more than 40 percent respondents started
using Brainly to go beyond homework assignments. Around 12 percent
students claimed that they started using Brainly because their grades
were suffering and they needed additional support.
Brainly is a peer-to-peer platform where students can help each other online. (Image: Shutterstock)
Brainly had also asked what sources of information are referred to by
teachers – digital or offline. Apparently, digital is picking up now.
“Our users in Bangalore are using us almost every day. The most popular
subject among Indian users is maths,†Michal tells YourStory.
Plan for India
Brainly’s strategy is to build the student community and work on the
content to ensure best quality. But India poses many challenges. For
instance, internet penetration is still poor in some areas outside metro cities. Michal
says their engineering team, comprising 65 people, is constantly
working to ensure that their app runs well and fast even in areas
without 4G.
On the other hand, Michal claims Brainly had to spend little on
marketing in India. “We did some digital marketing to gain visibility
initially. But our growth is mostly organic. Students often refer us to
each other; sometimes they search for information online and then they
find us. The bigger the knowledge base gets, more people come in,†he
says.
Since schools in India do not follow one unified syllabus, Brainly
does not follow a specific curriculum. The company wants to have the
highest coverage of all school subjects.
In a multi-lingual society like India, regional language content is
essential for the penetration of online education platforms. (Image:
Shutterstock)
Venturing beyond English speakers
The majority of Brainly’s current user base in India is English
speaking. As part of their expansion plan in India, they have launched
in Hindi, and will soon launch in Bengali and Kannada.
Michal explains the strategy. “Giving content in local
language is central in education. We take into account the size of that
particular language-speaking community, popularity of the language, and
internet penetration in the region of those language users, so that we
can scale up.â€
But home tutoring is the norm among school children in India. Can
Brainly beat this competition with local language content? Michal says
that for offline interactions (like home tutoring), the cost is higher
since the student or the teacher needs to travel. “With tech, you can
create a knowledge base, and give access to students free of cost,†he
remarks.
Even though they make tutoring jobs obsolete, Michal feels that tech
platforms like Brainly improve the quality of education. He elaborates,
“Students routinely have to attend home tutoring after school, then do
homework for school, and study on their own for understanding the topic.
We make that learning more efficient by helping them understand topics
faster.â€
Michal hopes that one day “Brainly†will replace the word “Brainyâ€. “When a student is smart, he is a Brainly one!†he says.
