The growing middle class is seen globally as a key market in the transformation to borderless digital delivery of education through edtech.

The Government of India’s (GoI) digital education initiatives and the need for economical access, combined with significant growth in mobile connected devices and rapid internet connectivity, has fuelled a shift toward online delivery and a changing landscape across education.

Education is key to economic transformation for individuals, families and the broader community. And India’s education market is driven by economic growth, massive youth population (500 million aged 5-24 years), competition for limited institutional education places and a need for quality education and training.

This market offers great opportunities for Australian edtech to leverage our global reputation for quality education. It is anticipated the online education market in India will reach US$1.96 billion and 9.6 million users by 2021, from US$247 million and 1.6 million users in 2016.

The edtech industry in India is burgeoning. It includes approximately 4,000 companies, one confirmed unicorn, and is attracting interest and investment from across the globe. They are creating innovative technologies; they are addressing ‘reach’ and ‘quality’; they have a significant talent pool and are leveraging AR, VR and MR to provide solutions to the market.

Australian Gov (2018), India EdTech Market Insights: Opportunities for Australia

All international expansion requires careful consideration, but huge markets like India require a well defined strategy. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the massive numbers – 1.4 billion people, 1.6 million schools, 400 million middle class.  But these numbers hide the nuances of establishing a commercially successful business or export market.

Trade missions are a great way of quickly scoping the market prior to defining your market entry strategy.