On Thursday, March 30th, we welcomed more than 60 attendees to the webinar “EdTech in Vietnam: Evolution or Revolution?”. With the kind support of other Chambers and Business Associations in Vietnam: BeluxCham, CanCham, CCIFV, DBAV, EuroCham, HKBAV and SCCV, the webinar was successfully organized.
With the participation of 4 EdTech experts: Micheal Ngo – Country Manager of Elsa, Corp, Tram Anh Nguyen – Co-founder of CFTE, Trang Vo Hoang Thuy – Country Representative of Passerelles numériques Vietnam and Matthew Lourey – Managing Partner of Acclime Vietnam and our Vice-Chairman Vlad Savin as the moderator, we had an insightful and interesting discussion on EdTech in Vietnam from different perspectives.
The complexity of Covid-19 over the last 2 years enabled speedy growth for EdTech industry but also brought out certain limits. With many years of experience in the field, the speakers enthusiastically shared details of their personal stories with the business during Covid time.
Indeed, the fast movement and urgent need for EdTech clearly showed the current stand of the industry in the Vietnam market. Before the hit of pandemic, online learning and online teaching were not considered traditional education in Vietnam. For that reason, both teachers and learners found themselves struggling in adapting to the new method. Especially, for people in rural areas with no access to modern technology, becoming an online teacher/ learner or a “tech-savvy” was extremely challenging for them. Needless to say, the lack of tech knowledge and tech skill created a burden for Vietnam education to step up quickly with the Covid changes.
However, we can see a huge opportunity for EdTech industry in Vietnam in the upcoming years. The unpredicted spread of pandemic proved that online learning is efficient, easily accessible and flexible for those who are interested. Taking this as a chance, EdTech businesses further developed their programs and models by integrating them into the market. For example, EdTech company connected with schools/ institutions to act as an online platform or online source, which helped with class preparation and interaction.
On the other hand, limitations and difficulties for EdTech in the domestic market are named as a complex regulatory and slow movement with low capacity. Considering these obstacles to EdTech, our speakers gave advice for EdTech startups in Vietnam. As the industry itself is unique, the drive for establishing a business should be different. This, unlike the others, is the culture-driven and value-creation industry. Therefore, startups and entrepreneurs really need to understand the big picture of the industry, what they want to do and what people need. Besides, EdTech businesses should deal with the regulatory and the process at the early stage: knowing what you need, what you have to prepare and what you cannot do.
The webinar ended with Q&A session when attendees came up with the issues and concerns in a practical context. We hope the webinar on EdTech was intriguing and informative for all of you who wish to know more about the industry.
