With growing adoption of work-from-home culture across corporates and rapid transformation of conventional education into contactless classes, the Asia Pacific e-learning market is slated to witness notable traction in the coming years. This is majorly attributed to COVID-19-enforced-shutdown of conventional education and training centers, along with corporates, to curb the spread of the virus.

The increasing adoption of e-learning platforms across Asia Pacific is predominantly supported by the soring accessibility to high-speed internet in the region. According to International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database, more than 70% of the total population in China had internet accessibility in 2020.

The large base of internet users in India is also contributing to the uptake of online learning platforms. As per the World Economic Forum, the number of internet users in India increased by 128 million (+23%) between 2019 and 2020.

Rising emphasis by the government as well as telecom operators, to introduce 5G network technologies across developing Asian nations, such as India, China, Japan, and others, is expected to positively influence the Asia Pacific e-learning industry dynamics in the years to come.

Mentioned below are some key factors expected to further augment the industry expansion:

Growing uptake of learning management system (LMS)

Asia Pacific is witnessing soaring uptake of learning management systems (LMS) across educational institutes and corporate sector owing to its ability to support automation, administration, and delivery of training & development programs and educational courses. Educational institutes extensively deploy learning management systems as it effectively helps in planning, assessing, facilitating, implementing, and monitoring the overall student learning.

Their capability to support conventional face-to-face real-time instruction sessions as well as hybrid and distance learning environments through highly secured and authentic virtual online mediums further advocates their adoption in schools and corporates. Nowadays, organizations highly rely on LMS rather than in-person instructor-led training sessions to efficiently implement their various employee-learning, training, and development programs.

HRMantra, Pocket Study LMS, and WiZDOM LMS are some notable learning management systems for businesses in India complementing the overall e-learning market growth in the region.

Escalating demand for mobile e-learning platforms

Mobile e-learning platforms offer higher flexibility in terms of learning anywhere anytime, which leads to better course completion rates. Mobile learning or M-learning platforms also renders 24/7 accessibility to personalized and tailor-made courses, which leads to a fast grasp and retention of relevant knowledge and information, resulting in higher adoption of the product.

Rapid urbanization and the significant rise in per capita income in the region leading to the growing penetration of smartphones, PCs, tablets, and desktops is further expected to influence the adoption of mobile learning platforms. As per the GSMA data, the smartphone adoption rate in Asia Pacific was around 67% in 2019, which is estimated to reach approximately 84% by 2025.

Flourishing education sector in India

India is quickly becoming one of the promising markets for e-learning software platforms across Asia Pacific owing to the positive outlook of the education sector in the country. The large base of young population in India is the major factor that complements the growth of the education industry. For instance, as per the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India is considered one of the youngest countries globally with around 500 million population aged under 5-24 years.

To educate such a mass young population, in 2021, the country had around 981 universities, as well as 9,700 AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education)-approved institutes, augmenting the business dynamics in the country. With the vast expanse of education programs in the region and subsequent adoption of online learning, India is likely to emerge as a pivotal avenue for APAC e-learning industry in the years ahead.