Technology has changed the way people learn. From the creation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) such as the Khan Academy to virtual classrooms and on-demand video tutors, education technology or ‘edutech’ has emerged as a rapidly growing sector, attracting significant investor interest.

Edutech refers to the utilisation of technology in developing tools in the education sector. For example, it could be in the form of classroom management software, interactive apps to educate users on various topics and platforms, or connecting tutors and students virtually.

The global edutech market was estimated at US$ 89.5 billion in 2020 with an expected CAGR of 19.9 per cent until 2028.

Edutech adoption in Southeast Asia has lagged in comparison to regions such as North America, Europe, and Australia due to the long-held belief that education must be conducted in the classroom for a qualification to be credible. This was further compounded by inconsistent access to internet connectivity. This changed after the pandemic.

The adoption of technology in education

Many school-going children and university students in Southeast Asian countries were affected at the height of the pandemic. When infections were rampant and vaccine rollout was just beginning, schools were forced to close and adapt to the new normal of online learning.

The difficulty to adopt online learning in schools is apparent and shows the lack of technology adoption among students and schools today. This, coupled with a lack of customized learning and a reliance on expensive private tutoring poses a systemic risk to the current system.

In Malaysia, where national examinations are the gateway to placing into tertiary education of choice, over 40,000 SPM (Malaysia Certificate of Education) candidates had to postpone their academic advancements as the exams were repeatedly rescheduled owing to multiple nationwide movement restrictions.

Also Read: ‘Edutech will be a hot commodity going forward’: GREDU co-founder Rizky Anies

The state of the Malaysian education system already had its fair share of challenges prior to the pandemic, COVID-19 just exacerbated the situation further.

The Department of Statistics found that the number of primary and secondary school students in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor increased by 1 per cent, while the number of teachers reduced by 1.3 per cent in 2019.

Over in Indonesia, national exams were cancelled entirely as a result of the pandemic and accelerated learning loss in the country. Indonesia already has one of the highest numbers of out-of-school children in the region according to UNICEF. Other ASEAN countries such as Thailand and the Philippines also faced the same issue.

The inherent issues in education systems in Southeast Asia, combined with a high internet penetration rate and a growing number of smartphone users, has catalyzed the rise of edutech in the region.

For instance, Indonesia’s learning management system Ruangguru boasts a user base of over 10 million individuals and has a valuation of US$830 million in its recent funding round.

US based accelerator programme Y-Combinator has spurred startups in the region which includes Avion School in the Philippines and Malaysia based Pandai. Avion provides remote learning for aspiring students that aim to become software engineers, while Pandai is a customised learning platform.

Funding in the region has seen healthy growth with US$200 million invested in 1H 2021, according to a report by Temasek, Bain, and Google.

Rise of edutech in Malaysia

Closer to home, we saw many edutech startups emerge in the country.

Anak2U is a kindergarten classroom management software that aims to help teachers with lengthy class preparation times, tedious administrative tasks, and a lack of teaching materials.

Social media app Quadby takes a different approach by fostering student communities and conversations. Its concept is a lot like the Clubhouse app where there are virtual rooms for intellectual discussion.

Meanwhile, Pandai focuses on the K-12 segment. It allows students to interact through its student communities, compete with others via gamified quizzes and seek to improve students’ academic performance using its extensive question bank.

All, in accordance with the Curriculum and Assessment Standard Document (DKSP) issued by Malaysia’s Ministry of Education (MOE).

Also Read: How edutech is solving the global teacher’s crisis

Students can benefit and learn from their mistakes by employing a range of learning tools with Pandai’s solution bank and report card feature, which is accessible exclusively on its premium subscription. Compared to other services, the startup’s offerings are more holistic.

It found that 73 per cent of parents in Malaysia felt that learning materials provided by schools were insufficient. Parents were spending more than US$900 per year on additional classes, supplementary workbooks, and 1-on-1 tutoring. Materials were often found to cater to the masses and not tailored to the requirements of students.

With issues circulating Malaysia’s education system, edutech stands to provide massive opportunities to startups that seek to provide solutions for this pertinent sector.

That said, the Malaysian government is taking steps towards building a tech-enabled education system. As outlined in the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025, the government is actively aiming to leverage ICT to scale up quality learning across Malaysia as ICT usage in schools continue to lag expectations.

Further to that, the Malaysian MOE promised to distribute 150,000 laptops during the pandemic to allow less fortunate students to practice online learning.

Edutech, not only provides students with the opportunity to empower their own learning paths but further enhances our education system by bridging the technology gaps that exist.

With support from the government and the success of our local startups, Malaysians stand to benefit from the plethora of education choices available online. Possibly, we could see the next Malaysian unicorn to be in the edutech space.

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PropertyGuru to list on NYSE on March 18
It has merged with Bridgetown 2; The proptech firm announced its intention to list in the US last year; At the time, the agreement gave PropertyGuru an enterprise value of over US$1.3B and an equity value of about US$1.8B.

Philippine startups raise more than US$1B in 2021: Report
It is a steep rise from US$369M raised in 2020, says a Foxmont Capital report; Fintech and media and entertainment registered the largest funding growth last year; Within the first two months of 2022, funds raised by local startups reached US$310M.

Ripple’s US$250M fund invests in first batch of NFT projects
Since launching in September 2021, Ripple’s Creator Fund has attracted nearly 4K applications; Notable creators that have received support from the fund include author, producer, and entrepreneur Justin Bua; filmmaker Steven Sebring; and xPunks.

Sea Group CEO makes efforts to be transparent after stock plunge
Forrest Li has sent an email to all employees in order to erase their fear of the company’s stock price plunge and defend its decision to continue spending on growth; According to some sources, fund managers have urged Sea to be more open about its strategy and numbers.

Edutech firm Cialfo raises US$20M more to extend its Series B round to US$60M
Investors are Tiger Global, Square Peg, and SEEK Investments; The Cialfo platform connects over 250K high school students, their counsellors, and families with over 1,000 colleges in 50 countries.

‘Climate tech: SEA needs more time to improve startup quality, attract capital’, says Earth Venture Capital’s Tien Nguyen
Lack of climate change education, governmental support and entrepreneurial culture contribute to the shortage of climate tech firms in SEA; Earth VC invests in early-stage tech firms serving the goals of switching to renewable energy, abandoning fuel and diesel and planting more trees.

Rukita acquires GDP Venture-owned boarding houses search platform Infokost.id
In December 2020, GDP Venture announced the closure of Infokost’s operations; Rukita then took it over and revitalised the business; Currently, Infokost.id offers 1M rooms on its platform and serves 50K property owners.

Singapore to tax NFT transactions
The government earlier warned its citizens regarding NFTs and the metaverse as the government tries to understand the nascent scene; Recently, the country’s so-called “Crypto King” came under fire for promoting P2E games whose native tokens eventually tanked.

East Ventures joins pre-seed round of Indonesian agritech firm Aria
Other investors are GK-Plug and Play Indonesia, Triputra Group, Waresix, and Sahabat Group; Aria uses drones and IoT devices to increase the efficiency and productivity of farmers and large-scale plantations.

Traveloka joins the burgeoning e-grocery market in Indonesia
Called Mart, the new service offers frozen food, fresh produce, and personal care items, among others; The company has partnered with several grocery stores and supermarkets in Greater Jakarta for its latest offering.

Why the Carbon tax is just a step forward and not a solution
While a carbon tax might encourage companies to make greener choices, adopting new technologies or swapping fuels, simply reducing emissions without offsetting them is unlikely to do enough to salvage the carbon budget.

How are NFTs contributing to creating a social impact?
Creators combine lessons and concepts learnt from previous PFP (profile picture ) projects like gamification, community involvement, and merchandise giveaways and apply them to sustainable development goal problems.

Ex-StanChart exec’s startup Touché banks funding from UAE financial firm
Focused on F&B and hospitality sectors, Touché allows businesses to serve their clients through a single-point device; Its solution runs on a fully integrated mobile-based smart payment terminal; The features include taking orders, tip management, and e-receipts.

Animoca backs Cardano-based crypto exchange WingRiders in seed round
Other investors include Bitrue, Double Peak Capital, Spark Digital Capital, and Matrixport; WingRiders is an automated market maker DEX that aims to be an infrastructure element in the Cardano ecosystem, providing easy integration into any wallet or decentralised app.

Google Ads’ Singapore rival ReverseAds bags US$600K from Choco Up
ReverseAds is a keyword-advertising platform; It identifies keywords based on users’ past searches, clicks, and purchases, and uses this data to help companies provide more relevant ads.

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#BreakTheBias is the theme for International Women’s Day 2022. The rallying cry of the hashtag is accompanied by a clear message and a pose for solidarity that would light social media feeds on fire.

Knowing that bias exists is a great start to deal with the issue. I’m glad to see conscious efforts taken to improve the situation. Here are some of the challenges we face and the progress we’ve made.

Implicit bias – unconscious, multi-faceted, and multi-cultural

Implicit bias occurs unconsciously and helps people navigate their world. But it also proves to be one of the biggest hurdles. It is an amalgamation of the associations and generalisations influenced by the cultures we are exposed to and our environment.

As a Muslim lady with mixed ethnic roots from India, the Middle East, and South-East Asia, I can attest that we will see greater diversity in the world marching hand-in-hand with globalisation. This puts into perspective the complexity of the challenges we must overcome.

I have seen the subtle and often unintentional decisions resulting from implicit bias that affect career options and trajectories in the workplace and ill-fitting expectations at home and in communities for women.

No one can be expected to be impartial. Being self-aware, taking a step back, and questioning what we would typically assume could open up impactful conversations.

COVID-19, the gender pay gap, and transparency

One of the obvious pain points that need to be addressed is the gender pay gap. A Pew Research Center report states that the pay gap between genders has maintained itself over the last 15 years.

Also Read: Top 10 community articles by women writers from the tech sphere

As the world finds its footing in a COVID-19 world, the pandemic has exacerbated the pay gap. A report stated the pre-pandemic rate of an average female US employee was 81 cents for every dollar the average male employee made.

The pandemic has widened the gap to 76 cents for every dollar, and economists predict it could take more than ten years to get back to pre-pandemic numbers.

Both organisations and women need to take responsibility to address this issue.

Organisations need to adopt pay transparency. A survey cited that 58 per cent of employees would consider switching to a company with pay transparency, and companies that adopt such a practice could close the gap and level the playing field.

Women can bridge the pay gap with the ask gap. In general, women ask for 6 per cent less for their salaries, and their ideal starting salary averaged 92 per cent from their male counterparts. With the ask gap, women tended not to ask for promotions till they felt adequate.

A Hewlett Packard internal report found that men apply for a job or promotion when they meet 60 per cent of the qualifications, compared to women who tended to attempt only when they met 100 per cent of them.

This plateaus their experience and contributions. Inter-organisation mentoring and coaching can help with these issues.

For my fellow ladies, do your homework, research the company and role you are seeking, and work on your negotiation skills.

Breadwinners and bread makers in the modern world

There has been a silver lining through the pandemic in how it accelerated specific movements. Hybrid working models were a catalyst that challenged the antiquated notion of men as breadwinners and women as bread makers.

Gender equity starts in the home was an article aptly named and published by HBR and explores how working from home helped even the workload for household chores and taking care of the children between men and women.

This development improved the job satisfaction and productivity of women. It would eliminate stigmas of work-life balance and gender roles in taking care of a family as it becomes a norm.

Progressive steps need to come from organisations and their people

The hiring push for chief diversity and inclusion officers has jumped from 84 per cent in 2020 to 111 per cent in 2021. This shows the commitment that organisations have to make positive change a priority.

For some organisations that are on board with this change, some adjustments can be taken too far. I’ve personally seen a discrepancy in the tasks assigned to female team members compared to their male colleagues with a similar role.

Also Read: Women aren’t looking for a place in the digital industry. They’ve always been there

Teams that do this deny their women a chance to grow and, if left unchecked, squander their human capital and would inadvertently perpetuate the cycle of inequality in the workplace.

Businesses serious about making a positive change should work together with organisations with the tools and expertise to ensure that integration for diversity and inclusion in the workplace is smooth.

Groups like AnitaB.org have been doing a fantastic job. Lean In has programs, initiatives, and support groups, while global movements such as HeForShe have gained massive traction and support for their work.

In an early-stage startup context, managing bias is both an easy and challenging piece. It comes from the value of the founders. While pay gaps and implicit bias is something that can be taken care of easily.

Creating a diverse environment and creating policies is not something one would focus on. However, as founders, it’s in the best interest to make a value system in an organisation that can fuel growth.

Role models and the way forward

We have seen women as titans of industry who have helped pave the way and open our eyes to the possibilities.

Women such as Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of PepsiCo, have spoken about the deep talent pool that women represent if organisations nurture and invest in them. Or Falguni Nayar, who founded Nykaa just before turning 50. The e-commerce company became the first Indian unicorn startup headed by a woman in 2020.

There is still much work to be done, breaking the bias in investments is one such topic. Women-led founders received just 2.3 per cent of VC funding. There is a push today to have more Women as VCs.

Breaking the bias is the theme for International Women’s Day 2022 and a spark borne through awareness and sensitivity.

By HeForShe’s estimates, we are taking the first steps on a 257-year journey towards gender equality in the workplace, and it will take continued action and vigilance to get there truly.

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Decentralised finance (DeFi) can disrupt many existing concepts or introduce entirely new use cases. The field of fixed-income securities is exciting due to the opportunities it provides. DeFi can fuel growth in this segment due to its traceability and issuance benefits.

Understanding fixed-income securities

Many financial and investment vehicles exist in the world of finance today. As a result, fixed-income securities have started to gain more traction.

Unlike other investment options, every fixed-income security is a debt instrument issued by corporations, governments, or other entities. This instrument allows the issuer to finance and expand its operations, resulting in potential future growth. 

Moreover, the fixed-income security is beneficial to investors, as they receive periodic payments and eventual returns of their principal investment. It is essential to understand that investing in these instruments is akin to investors extending a loan to the issuer.

Like a loan, the money needs to be repaid, and there are “interest payments” while this process remains ongoing. 

Investors are drawn to these vehicles because they help diversify a portfolio. In addition, many people consider fixed-income securities as low-risk and secure ways to generate a steady flow of income.

All one needs to do is hold them to maturity to acquire a guaranteed return on investment with a transparent payment structure. 

Several forms of fixed-income securities exist today:

• Bonds
• Savings bonds
• Guaranteed investment certificates
• Treasury bills
• Banker’s acceptances
• Mortgage-backed securities
• Strip coupons
• A laddered portfolio

Also Read: Staying ahead of the game: How DeFi traders are using price discovery to outsmart bots

Despite various investment options, these securities are not always accessible to everyone. Decentralised finance protocols can shake up that model for the better, as the underpinning technology can extend such products to anyone in the world.

Decentralisation through DeFi

Making these low-risk instruments more accessible may require the use of a different technology stack and mindset. As anyone can issue a fixed-income security investment opportunity, the market can unlock tremendous potential liquidity with the help of blockchain and smart contracts.

Unlike legacy finance systems, the blockchain isn’t controlled by one group or person and provides equal access. As such, any fixed-income security on the blockchain can find a global audience of investors, bootstrapping liquidity for organisations, corporations, and other issuers. 

DeFi protocols such as DeBond introduce multiple options to make investing in these instruments more straightforward. Users can choose between a floating rate bond and a fixed-rate bond. Each option has potential benefits but introduces a different level of risk depending on the investor’s appetite.

Making both solutions accessible gives users worldwide more options than they would have at their disposal. Additionally, the blockchain provides traceability and accountability, offering much-needed transparency. 

The floating rate bond by DeBond provides users with a higher interest rate through a subprime bond with no fixed maturity date and a potential loss of principal and, as such, introduces a higher risk factor.

However, high risk/high reward can prove appealing to many people. Users with less risk appetite can opt for the fixed-rate bond with a lower interest rate prime bond through a fixed maturity date and predetermined interest rates while offering better principal protection.

The tokenisation of bonds and other fixed-income securities investment options introduces a new financial paradigm in the future.

Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi

On the one hand, the blockchain has many benefits, including transparency and broader accountability. On the other hand, it paves the way for more overall liquidity for those issuing such vehicles, as they can tap into a global market without relying on intermediaries. 

Bringing accessibility to alternative investment tools

Democratising access to fixed-income security investments enhances the appeal of decentralised finance. In addition, an alternative financial ecosystem can be created through blockchain technology and smart contracts to increase global financial inclusion and provide unprecedented accountability. 

Finally, exploring the many opportunities in this space can provide a competitive edge to whoever comes to market first with a safe, secure, and accessible investment vehicle.

Demand for exposure to fixed-income security investments is rising, and DeFi may be a crucial catalyst in triggering the next market boom. 

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January marked Bitcoin’s 13th birthday, the world’s most well-known cryptocurrency, which kickstarted the decentralised revolution now underway across the globe. 

As Bitcoin enters adolescence, so too is the emerging technology of blockchain. Since the latter was separated from cryptocurrency in 2014, its potential has only continued to grow.

Both crypto and blockchain have begun to enter the mainstream, from El Salvador making Bitcoin legal tender alongside the US dollar in September last year to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) gripping the world’s attention all through 2021. 

Just what has spurred crypto’s mainstream recognition, and with blockchain having cemented its place in our digital future, what can we expect to see as we take stock of how far it has come in 13 years?

Far from cheugy

With the use of its abbreviation rising by more than 11,000 per cent in 2021, “NFT” was named the Collins dictionary’s 2021 word of the year, edging out competition from the likes of “crypto” to Generation Z-coined term “cheugy”. This speaks to the meteoric rise in awareness of two of blockchain’s most prevalent use cases. 

You wouldn’t need to look any further than pop culture and the creative industries to see that NFTs indeed capture the zeitgeist of today.

From avatar-style NFT profile photos like Bored Ape Yacht Club taking over Twitter to the social media giant rolling out a feature to verify users’ ownership of their NFT profile photos, it’s evident that NFTs are here to stay.

Even the art world, notorious for being opaque and elitist, is beginning to embrace the digital token. Today’s underlying blockchain technology represents greater transparency and a levelled playing field for exposure and monetisation. 

Also Read: Why Bitcoin is set to boom in a post-COVID-19 era

On our shores just last month, Singapore Art Week welcomed its first NFT art exhibition hosted by TZ APAC, which featured over 15 prominent digital artists from the continent.

Elsewhere in the region, the NFT scene is quickly gaining momentum. Artists are rising to prominence, from Art Moments Jakarta hosting the nation’s first NFT art competition to Art Fair Philippines launching educational initiatives for art creators and collectors.

The sheer potential of Asia’s emerging markets, coupled with their immense appetite for technology, are clear reasons for that. 

Ramping up on sustainability

Nevertheless, concerns around the effects of blockchain on the environment have been mounting. This has largely been shaped by legacy networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum that continue to use Proof-of-Work (PoW) as their preferred consensus method.

Here, miners on the network need to expend computational energy to solve complex mathematical problems to validate transactions. This process consumes an enormous amount of energy; it’s even been estimated that a whopping 300 million new trees would have to be planted to offset Bitcoin’s carbon footprint. 

The solution? Proof-of-Stake (PoS) is an energy-efficient alternative that involves validating transactions based on one’s ‘stake’ in the network. Owners essentially offer their coins as collateral and are then randomly selected by the network to mine the coins.

In other words, without miners everywhere having to compete to solve mathematical puzzles, the computational power the PoS consensus mechanism requires is drastically lower than that of PoW. 

Bitcoin consumes approximately 141.10 TWh annually; that’s enough to power Sweden for a year! In contrast, at 0.001 TWh, the energy consumption of PoS blockchain Tezos is equivalent to the footprint of a mere 17 people.

Also Read: Is Bitcoin the safest currency in times of rising global tensions?

Ethereum, recognising the pressing need for energy efficiency, is also beginning to transition to PoS. As the blockchain behind the second-most popular cryptocurrency after Bitcoin and many decentralised applications and NFTs are built, the industry leader’s upgrades point to the growing popularity of PoS within the blockchain space as it matures.

The Asian Age

With that said, the crypto space is ever-evolving, and looking at how its evolution has panned out in Asia as compared to the West, out of which conversations have tended to dominate in the mainstream thus far, would also shed light on the many directions of growth that crypto can take.

Boasting young, digitally-native populations and a burgeoning middle class, there is no wonder why countries from the region have topped Chainanalysis’ 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index, with emerging markets like Vietnam, India and the Philippines making it to the list. 

Interestingly, crypto adoption in the region can be said to be largely driven by necessity and/or utility. During lockdown last year, people in the Philippines turned to play-to-earn NFT game Axie Infinity as a source of income, while many from emerging markets have turned to crypto to send and receive remittances across borders, according to the same Chainalysis study on crypto adoption.

Moreover, NFTs are used in highly localised contexts, from Kpop NFTs in South Korea to marketplaces explicitly built for the Bollywood film industry in India. There have been clear attempts to address the myriad cultural differences across the region.

For mainstream adoption to soar, creators and enterprises alike will certainly do well to localise crypto offerings in the notoriously fragmented market of Asia. 

The exponential growth that the crypto ecosystem is experiencing in Asia, along with the developments the industry has seen since Bitcoin’s emergence 13 years ago, are certainly cause for celebration as we enter a new year.

As we look ahead, we can expect to see boundless iterations of novel use cases and blockchain continuing to shape our world in a multitude of innovative ways. 

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