Edtech startups get lockdown boost

Kolkata: The coronavirus-triggered lockdown over the past three months has given a boost to online learning in Kolkata and other parts of the country, with several

edtech

(educational technology providers) startups witnessing a spurt in the number of enrolments across age groups for online courses.

As educational institutes continue to remain shut, with professionals finding more time amid work-from-home (WFH) arrangements, many signed up for various online courses. For Great Learning Academy, it has been a three-fold increase in demand for registrations to courses associated with Data Science, Business Analytics, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning and Data Science and Engineering over the past two months.

“In terms of enrolment, Kolkata featured among the top 10 cities. Many young professionals are opting for our courses, including cloud computing, machine learning, cyber security and digital marketing to better themselves,” said Hari Krishnan Nair, co-founder of Great Learning.

The demand for online education in AI and robotics is not limited to professionals. Edtech firm WhiteHat Jr — which offers courses for students aged 6-14 — reported 100% month-on-month growth enabling a $100 million annual recurring revenue (ARR). Nearly 10,000 classes are being conducted daily on the platform for Indian students.

Karan Bajaj, founder and CEO, WhiteHat Jr, said, “While we were earlier growing at a 60% MoM, this has accelerated after the lockdown. The average monthly enrolment from Kolkata was 1,850 before the lockdown, which has now gone up to 2,608. With more than 20,000 paid subscribers and over 5,000 daily classes conducted, our US business alone is growing at about 160% and we have recently announced plans to expand in other markets like Canada, Australia and New Zealand.”

Pranjal Kumar, the principal and CFO of Bertelsmann India Investments, which is active in education sectors, said, “The pandemic has brought about significant tailwinds for edtech startups that have clocked business growth with two- or three-fold jump in registrations, so the contribution points have improved by 5%-8%. Some of these points are likely to stick beyond the Covid times as parents and children are getting well acquainted with online learning.”

The spike in enrolment at some top-notch startups, including Gradeup, Unacademy, Eduisfun and upGrad, ranges from 2%-15% in various metro cities, including Kolkata. Arjun Mohan, the CEO of upGrad, said, “The pandemic added positivity to the business of edtech startups that have opened up live-learning platforms for school- and college-goers. Currently, we have around 45,000 students from 50 institutes on our live-learning platform for courses based on data, technology and management.”