Content/application design for online learning
Content/application design for online learning
Business Model Description
Content/application production for online or digital education: Private sector subscription based services could produce more digital learning technologies and content
Expected Impact
Especially during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, this IOA will ensure uninterrupted access to learning resources and improve teaching outcomes
How is this information gathered?
Investment opportunities with potential to contribute to sustainable development are based on country-level SDG Investor Maps.
Disclaimer
UNDP, the Private Finance for the SDGs, and their affiliates (collectively “UNDP”) do not seek or solicit investment for programmes, projects, or opportunities described on this site (collectively “Programmes”) or any other Programmes, and nothing on this page should constitute a solicitation for investment. The actors listed on this site are not partners of UNDP, and their inclusion should not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation by UNDP for any relationship or investment.
The descriptions on this page are provided for informational purposes only. Only companies and enterprises that appear under the case study tab have been validated and vetted through UNDP programmes such as the Growth Stage Impact Ventures (GSIV), Business Call to Action (BCtA), or through other UN agencies. Even then, under no circumstances should their appearance on this website be construed as an endorsement for any relationship or investment. UNDP assumes no liability for investment losses directly or indirectly resulting from recommendations made, implied, or inferred by its research. Likewise, UNDP assumes no claim to investment gains directly or indirectly resulting from trading profits, investment management, or advisory fees obtained by following investment recommendations made, implied, or inferred by its research.
Investment involves risk, and all investments should be made with the supervision of a professional investment manager or advisor. The materials on the website are not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any investment, security, or commodity, nor shall any security be offered or sold to any person, in any jurisdiction in which such offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
Country & Regions
- Turkey: Eastern Anatolia Region
- Turkey: Marmara Region
- Turkey: Southeastern Anatolia Region
Sector Classification
Technology and Communications
Development need
Technology is a cross-cutting sector for many SDGs. In terms of its performance on SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), Turkey faces major challenges. The country performs well-below the global long-term objective in indicators such as Expenditures on Research and Development and the Number of Researchers (per thousand employed people). (1)
Policy priority
The 11th Development Plan, the Sustainable Development Goals Evaluation Report, 2020 Annual Presidential Program and the 2019-2023 Strategy Plan of the Ministry of Industry and Technology all highlight the importance of technology for the achievement of the SDGs and stress the need to digitally transform the country’s economy as a prerequisite for competitive production.
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
According to the Women in Tech Index, the percentage of female employment in technology is at a mere 9.91% in Turkey. 37.11% of STEM graduates are female. There is a gender pay gap of 8.42% between men and women in the tech industry. This necessitates policies and business models that promote the employment of women in technology with fair wages. (16)
Investment opportunities
The government intends to mobilize investment momentum in this sector. Existing incentives are offered by TUBITAK, KOSGEB, The Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Development and Investment Bank of Turkey. The importance of investing in this sector is increasingly evident with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, necessitating remote access to vital services
Key bottlenecks
The ability to compete on prices with imported technological products and services already present in the Turkish market; infant-industry problems. Ambiguity of the regulations in some of the latest areas of development such as IoT. Issues related to cyber security and data privacy.
Technology
Development need
There is a growing need to adopt technology-integrated solutions in the education sector to increase the availability of pedagogical tools to boost learning outcomes, and grant access to remote learning services in light of the pandemic.
Policy priority
The Ministry of Education’s 2019-2023 Strategic Plan addresses the need to make digitalization and distance learning more prevalent in the education system.
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
According to the Women in Tech Index, the percentage of female employment in technology is at a mere 9.91% in Turkey. 37.11% of STEM graduates are female. There is a gender pay gap of 8.42% between men and women in the tech industry. This necessitates policies and business models that promote the employment of women in technology with fair wages. (16)
Investment opportunities
Tübitak offers financial support for SMEs' R&D projects for manufacturing a new product and the development and improvement of an existing product. Other incentives are offered by the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Development and Investment Bank of Turkey. This area has high policy momentum, and new investment opportunities are supported by the government.
Key bottlenecks
While it is vital to develop new technologies to increase access to education, it is also important to note that some students do not have access to the telecommunications infrastructure in the country to access these products and services. The public sector has to take initiative for service provisions.
Software and IT Services
Pipeline Opportunity
Content/application design for online learning
Content/application production for online or digital education: Private sector subscription based services could produce more digital learning technologies and content
Business Case
Market Size and Environment
10% - 15%
The e-learning industry in Turkey is projected to achieve a CAGR of 10.8% between 2019-2023. Increasing number of internet users, rising government efforts to grow the e-learning sector, the adoption of modern technologies by the learners, and growing use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) by the corporate sector are among the primary drivers of growth. (7)
Indicative Return
> 25%
The return profile is based on the estimates of the interviewed stakeholders in this field
Investment Timeframe
Short Term (0–5 years)
This is not a capital intensive sector, and there is already a high-demand after the coronavirus pandemic
Ticket Size
USD 500,000 - USD 1 million
Market Risks & Scale Obstacles
Business - Supply Chain Constraints
Impact Case
Sustainable Development Need
COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of e-learning services in Turkey.
E-learning addresses the many challenges faced by the education system, such as a high pupil-to-teacher ratio and grants greater access to high quality learning resources.
Gender & Marginalisation
There are around 1.6 million Syrian children of schooling age in Turkey who might benefit from online learning platforms and material. (8)(9)
Female population with lower education levels could also be benefited from the initiative as well as people in rural areas
Expected Development Outcome
Increase access to quality education services, improve the literacy in ICT skills, promote life-long learning opportunities and minimize distruptions in the learning process in emergency scenarios such as the coronavirus pandemic (SDG 4).
Gender & Marginalisation
Reduce education gaps and lack of oportunities for Syrian children in the country
Reduce gender and rural education gaps
Primary SDGs addressed
4.3.1 Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex
4.4.1 Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill
4.6.1 Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex
4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex
33.28% (the rate of enrollment in tertiary education) (1).
18.4% (Proportion of youth and adults with ICT skills in using presentation software) (10)
99.8% (youth literacy rate) (10)
52.2% (1)
100%
100%
Secondary SDGs addressed
Directly impacted stakeholders
People
Corporates
Public sector
Indirectly impacted stakeholders
People
Gender inequality and/or marginalization
Corporates
Outcome Risks
Poorly designed networks might lead to cyber security issues and data privacy threats.
Impact Risks
Stakeholder Participation Risk Execution Risk
Impact Classification
What
Important, positive outcome: increased access to formal education services and improved teaching outcomes.
Who
Digital learning service and technology providers, students, the education sector as a whole benefits from online learning.
Risk
Lack of internet or computer access throughout the broader population and poor digital infrastructure at schools might indicate that these models do not reach the intended stakeholders
Impact Thesis
Especially during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, this IOA will ensure uninterrupted access to learning resources and improve teaching outcomes
Enabling Environment
Policy Environment
(2019-2023 Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Education): Among the policy goals of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Education are the provision of equal opportunity of access beyond the classroom to digital learning aid) and promoting life long learning opportunities through remote learning infrastructure.
(2020 Presidential Program): The 2020 Presidential Program stresses the need to develop the human resources of the country in a way that produces positive economic and social externalities and the importance of ensuring the accessibility of education and the availability of lifelong education opportunities
(11th Development Plan): The 11th Development Plan recommends to develop and support of innovative learning designs using mobile technology in order increase the access of students and teachers to information
Financial Environment
Financial incentives: Tübitak offers financial support to e-book and MOOC producers. Support will be provided up to 120 thousand liras, excluding royalty payments.
Other incentives: The Ministry of Industry and Technology and The Development and Investment Bank of Turkey established "The Technology and Innovation Fund" under the Turkey Development Fund to finance innovative tech. based companies/projects
Regulatory Environment
(Regulation): Basic National Education Law Number 1739 delineates the organization and general structure of the education system
(Regulation): Law #5580 is the law on private education. It sets out the conditions for the establishment and the necessary qualifications of private educational institutions
(Regulation): The new Personal Data Protection Law of 2019 outlines the requirements and criteria for data protection in online systems for Turkey
Marketplace Participants
Private Sector
Online learning technology and service providers such as Enocta, Einstein, Blackboard, Infinity Teknoloji, Moodle, Canvas, Udemy, Bilgi Kurdu etc; internet and telecommunication service providers such as Turk Telekom and Vodaphone
Government
The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry and Technology, Tubitak
Multilaterals
UNICEF
Target Locations
Turkey: Eastern Anatolia Region
Turkey: Marmara Region
Turkey: Southeastern Anatolia Region
References
- (1) SDG Index & Dashboard, 2020, https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/profiles/TUR/indicators
- (2) 2020 Annual Presidential Program, http://www.sbb.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2020_Yili_Cumhurbaskanligi_Yillik_Programi.pdf
- (3) 11th Development Plan http://www.sbb.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/On_BirinciPLan_ingilizce_SonBaski.pdf
- (4) Sustainable Development Goals Evaluation Report from the Directorate of Strategy and Budget, 2019
- (5) Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources 2019-2023 Strategic Plan, http://www.sp.gov.tr/upload/xSPStratejikPlan/files/LBigi+ENERJI_VE_TABII_KAYNAKLAR_BAKANLIGI_2019-2023_STRATEJIK_PLANI.pdf
- (6) 2019-2023 Strategy Plan of the Ministry of Education, http://www.sp.gov.tr/upload/xSPStratejikPlan/files/Anobg+StratejikPlan2019-2023.pdf
- (16) PR News, 2019 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/turkey-e-learning-market-is-expected-to-reach-over-usd-200-million-by-the-year-ending-2023-according-to-market-research-report-by-ken-research-300927524.html
- (8) UNICEF, 2019, https://www.unicef.org/turkey/en/press-releases/65000-refugee-children-benefit-school-enrolment-programme-turkey
- (9) Multeciler Dernegi, 2021, https://multeciler.org.tr/turkiyedeki-suriyeli-sayisi/?fbclid=IwAR2sk2WRhFY0pMCvk1774noo0f4ggesBbHaNGzgTwpdlDtwgUE-HSEaQR3I
- (10) SDG Tracker, 2020, https://sdg-tracker.org/ "11) Enstitü.com. Online Eğitim Pazarı 350 Milyar Dolara Çıkacak. https://www.iienstitu.com/blog/online-egitim-pazari-350-milyar-dolara-cikacak " "12) Angel.co, Turkey Angel Investors, https://angel.co/turkey/investors "
- (13) Bilim Senligi, Tubiktan Egitime Dijital Destek, https://www.bilimsenligi.com/tubitaktan-egitime-dijital-destek.html/
- (14) LodeStar Web Journal, https://lodestarlearn.wordpress.com/2019/06/13/online-learning-trends-risks-and-opportunities/
- (15) The 2019-2023 Strategy Plan of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, https://www.sanayi.gov.tr/strateji2023/sts-ktp.pdf
- (16) Honeypot, Women in Tech Index, 2018 https://www.honeypot.io/women-in-tech-2018/
- (17) Turkis Statistical Services, 2021. https://cip.tuik.gov.tr/#