• Traditional education is ripe for disruption by technology. The market for education technology is projected to grow 11 per cent annually, to $341 billion by 2025 (HolonIQ). Similar growth at 10 per cent per annum is projected for the corporate learning market, driven by the digital revolution and the need to upskill the workforce. COVID-19 has become a catalyst for the transformation.

   

  No EdTech market in the world is as exciting as Asia’s, with hundreds of millions of students, a cultural emphasis on education, a growing middle class, government support, and an abundance of capital. In China alone EdTech is growing by 20% per year. The APAC region is also likely to witness the highest growth rates in corporate e-learning.

  Greater Bay Area (GBA) Opportunities

  The Fellowship is a Global Business Acceleration programme for education ventures. It also provides an opportunity for the Fellows to understand the market and business opportunities of the Greater Bay Area.

   

  The Chinese government has a strategic plan to build Asia’s Silicon Valley out of a cluster of 11 massive, hyper-connected, prosperous cities in South China. The city cluster, called the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, is home to 3 of the world top 50 universities and tech behemoths like Tencent, Huawei, and DJI. Taken together, the GBA has 71 million people and a GDP of USD $1.7 trillion. It finances, manufactures and ships more products than any other similar places on earth.

   

  Our Fellowship offers an in-depth look at opportunities in the GBA, as a launch pad to the global market, a fundraising centre, a R&D test bed for Asia, and a global supply chain management center. The Fellowship will take the 12 finalists to visit three major cities in the GBA:

  

  

  Hong Kong is the most cosmopolitan Chinese city that speaks the global business language. It serves as the Greater Bay Area‘s leading hub for international finance, legal arbitration and professional services. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the number one IPO market in the world. As an international investment hub and a key gateway to deep pocketed investors in China, Hong Kong offers growth stage companies opportunity amid what many expect to be a challenging capital environment in the years to come. The city also has one of the world’s lowest tax rates and the world’s highest density of ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

   

  Over the recent years, Hong Kong has developed itself into an Asian startup hub, with over 3,000 startups operating in the region. It is second to none in terms of its convenience, efficiency, energy and excitement - an ideal place for entrepreneurs to pursue and realise their dreams and ambitions. Hong Kong people are known for their resourcefulness, diligence, can-do spirit and business ethics. They are also one of the most trend conscious and tech savvy. Notwithstanding a small domestic market, Hong Kong makes a perfect testing bed for new products and services in Asia. And despite its small economy, Hong Kong’s history as an international trading hub has resulted in a high concentration of businesses with global connections. It is an ideal place for ventures looking for partners to expand beyond their home markets.

  Shenzhen is the R&D and innovation hub of the GBA. Known as the Silicon Valley of China, it is the home of Chinese tech giants such as Tencent, Huawei and DJI with an abundance of startup accelerators and other support facilities. Its investment in research and development is one of the world’s highest, matched only by South Korea and Israel.

  

  

  Dongguan is fast becoming an advanced manufacturing centre of China, with electronic information manufacturing as the pillar industry. Today one in four smart phones are made in Dongguan. The Songshan Lake High-Tech Industrial Park is a global startup incubator focusing on robotics and smart hardware.

• Insights and Resources

  

  1. 10 charts that explain the Global Education Technology Market by HolonIQ

   

  2. $3B Global EdTech Venture Capital for Q1 2020 by HolonIQ

   

  3. COVID-19. Global Education Outlook by HolonIQ

   

  4. Education in 2030 by HolonIQ

   

  5. Tomorrow’s world of education: students learn online in Covid-19 lockdown, but what edtech advances can we expect? by South China Morning Post

   

  6. Case study - The Greater Bay Area: A Key Portal for Education Technology by Hong Kong Trade Development Council

   

  7. PIE CHAT with Rachel Chan, co-founder of Esperanza by The PIE NEWS

   

  8. Analysis of Chinese Education Policies by UK Department of International Trade

   

  9. Webinar Synopsis on ‘Edtech opportunities in the Greater Bay Area’ by Esperanza

   

  10. Education was a laggard in embracing technology - until the pandemic by Rachel Chan, Disruptive Asia