EdTech in Bangladesh: A Revolution in the Offing
FROM THE EDITOR
In March 2020, the global Coronavirus pandemic resulted in shutdown of classrooms. Teachers and students opted for online classes in order to save academic years for millions of students across the country. EdTech start-ups such as 10 Minute School, Shikho, Shohopathi, which provided online platform for learning, started to thrive from that period of time. Funding in the EdTech industry which was around 0.16 mln in 2018 climbed to around 6 mln in 2022 and 89% of it is foreign funding. According to The Business Standard, 10 Minute School achieved 12 times growth in 2021 with 3.20 mln application users and the amazing part is that, majority of the application users are rural learners. Meanwhile, Shikho which is the country’s largest seed-funded start-up has its paid application users growing by around 140% since its inception. Needless to say, hence, a revolution in the EdTech industry is indeed in the offing. However, factors such as better internet connectivity across the country, greater and cheaper access to hand-held smart devices, more world-class education accreditation for online platforms, etc. should be addressed, to make the growth of this industry sustainable.
RIFAT ISHTIAQ KHAN
Manager
IDLC Finance Ltd.