The number of edtech startups in Vietnam has grown from 60 to over 100 in 2015, turning the country into one of the largest edtech communities in Southeast Asia. According to edtech group Topica CEO Pham Minh Tuan, there are several factors that contributed to this phenomenal growth, starting from the entrance of VC firms such as IDG Ventures and CyberAgent Ventures in the market as early as 2004. “The first generation of edtech startups were founded around the mid-2000s, and by now, startups have learned a lot from their successes and failures. Second, Internet and smartphone penetration is on the rise,” he explained in an interview with e27. There is a burning desire from Vietnamese students to learn, combined with exploding demand for degree education, professional skills and language skills due to foreign investment, regional and international trade agreements. “Some research estimate that the size of education market is seven times that of telco market … Just think about how much you and your family would invest on education each year, and how much would you spend on buying new phones, paying subscription fees and downloading apps,” he added.

Read the full interview on e27’s website.