Learning Management Systems (LMS) for Modern Academic Portals
Learning Management Systems (LMS) for Modern Academic Portals
Business Model Description
Invest in B2B players engaged in: - building LMS platforms operating with SAAS business model - development of digital interactive content, including books and other learning materials (audio visual, augmented reality) for K-12, smart classes, tutoring and skill training courses, including local/culture/wisdom/value content development. Examples of some companies active in this space are:
PesonaEdu, founded in 1986, is an Indonesian EdTech company which focuses on developing technology for education, especially applications and content related to the learning process. PesonaEdu reported revenue of USD 58 mn. (12)
Quintal, founded in 2015, offers an integrated Learning Management System and Student Information System to create a unified academic portal that is easy for administrators, teachers, students and parents to use. In 2016, it raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from East Ventures. (13) Quintal reported USD 1.3 mn revenue in 2021. (14)
AIMSIS (Academic Information Management System in Schools) provides a SaaS platform for connecting parents with teachers, while automating teacher’s administrative task. Through the platform user can access online teaching materials, automatically manage grades, customize report-cards, connect with other members, post and evaluate assignments online and maintain attendance data.
Gredu, founded in 2016, is engaged with Indonesia’s K-12 National Curriculum and Islamic Curriculum programs, used in both private and public schools. Its new verticals, include software for preschools and university programs. Gredu raised USD 4 mn in Series A round of funding led by Intudo Ventures. As of July 2021, Gredu is used by more than 400 schools, with a total of 400,000 users. (15)
Expected Impact
Provide access to quality education to improve learning outcomes and learning experience resulting in improved quality of human capital.
How is this information gathered?
Investment opportunities with potential to contribute to sustainable development are based on country-level SDG Investor Maps.
Disclaimer
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Country & Regions
- Indonesia: Countrywide
Sector Classification
Education
Development need
Quality of learning outcomes remain low, indicated by low productivity rate which is 1/4th of that of Malaysia's. (1) The workforce is currently dominated by ~50.2 mn (or 39.7%) elementary school graduates or below (2). Based on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Human Capital Index in 2017, Indonesia ranked 65th out of 130 countries, lower than 5 other ASEAN countries. (3)
Policy
2020-24 National Medium-Term Development Plan: prioritizes the improvement of quality of education by focusing on teaching and learning outcomes; increasing equitable access to education services at all levels and accelerating its 12-year compulsory education with assurances to improve the quality of learning outcomes. (2)
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
Learning inequality is high between regions, schools, and within schools. Indonesia’s net ratio of girls to boys at almost all education levels –except primary, shows higher participation of girls than boys.
The number of male students who dropped out from lower and higher secondary education are nearly thrice and twice of female drop-outs, respectively. (4) By gender, the average years of schooling for girls (8.42) is still below the boys (9.08) (5). 62% of 2.9 mn teachers and educational personnel in Indonesia are women (6).
Pre-COVID-19 disparities related to disabilities, remoteness, sex, and language interference have been exacerbated post-COVID-19. Districts with higher incomes, large urban centers, and greater implementation capacity tend to do better than those with lower income, more rural districts, with lower implementation capacity.
Teachers employed in rural and remote regions continue to be the least qualified (1). In 2021, Gross Participation Rate (APK) for Senior High School was 73.21% in the 1st Quintile (poorest) and 96.74% in the 5th Quintile (most prosperous). Since 2020-2021, Participation Rate was average ~70%. (7)
Investment opportunities introduction
The GoI allocates 20% of its state budget for education sector each year [USD 38 bn in 2021] (8). Annual consumer spending on education is expected to grow at 6% per annum and collectively reached USD 23.6 bn in 2020 (9).
Key bottlenecks introduction
Due to disparity in internet penetration and infrastructure, qualified educators may not be available in remote areas.
Investment in Education cannot reap returns in remarkably improved outcomes without adding accountability measures to education reforms and focusing on learning outcomes (1).
Education Technology
Development need
Due to Covid-19, >0.5 mn early childhood centers, schools and universities have shutdown and with limited face-to-face learning average time spent on distance learning ranges from 2.2-3.5 hours per day. Risk of school dropout has grown, resulting in greater risk of child marriage and other harmful, exploitative practices. (10)
Policy
the GoI encourages education sector to optimize the utilization of modern technology in synergizing distance learning models and online learning systems, as well as to prepare Indonesian human resources in the industry 4.0 era (2) through improvement of literacy, innovation, and creativity in all regions (5).
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
In reading and mathematics tests, students in eastern part of Indonesia tend to perform poorer than their peers in the western part, which reflects the persisting inequality between the two regions (4). By gender, the average years of schooling for girls (8.42) is still below the boys (9.08) (5).
Investment opportunities introduction
Consumers spending on courses beyond the national curriculum grows rapidly, exceeded USD 37.5 mn in 2019, indicating their willingness to pay for improved education systems (9)
Key bottlenecks introduction
Low internet connectivity and adoption of technology among educational institutions and personnel limits the acceleration of education technology implementation, specifically in remote areas. Connectivity is highly concentrated in Java, and ~12,500 villages lack 4G connection, despite Indonesia’s high internet penetration rate 73.7% (2019). (11)
Pipeline Opportunity
Learning Management Systems (LMS) for Modern Academic Portals
Invest in B2B players engaged in: - building LMS platforms operating with SAAS business model - development of digital interactive content, including books and other learning materials (audio visual, augmented reality) for K-12, smart classes, tutoring and skill training courses, including local/culture/wisdom/value content development. Examples of some companies active in this space are:
PesonaEdu, founded in 1986, is an Indonesian EdTech company which focuses on developing technology for education, especially applications and content related to the learning process. PesonaEdu reported revenue of USD 58 mn. (12)
Quintal, founded in 2015, offers an integrated Learning Management System and Student Information System to create a unified academic portal that is easy for administrators, teachers, students and parents to use. In 2016, it raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from East Ventures. (13) Quintal reported USD 1.3 mn revenue in 2021. (14)
AIMSIS (Academic Information Management System in Schools) provides a SaaS platform for connecting parents with teachers, while automating teacher’s administrative task. Through the platform user can access online teaching materials, automatically manage grades, customize report-cards, connect with other members, post and evaluate assignments online and maintain attendance data.
Gredu, founded in 2016, is engaged with Indonesia’s K-12 National Curriculum and Islamic Curriculum programs, used in both private and public schools. Its new verticals, include software for preschools and university programs. Gredu raised USD 4 mn in Series A round of funding led by Intudo Ventures. As of July 2021, Gredu is used by more than 400 schools, with a total of 400,000 users. (15)
Business Case
Market Size and Environment
> USD 1 billion
20% - 25%
Elementary-148,743; 88% public Junior high-40,597; 58% state High-13,865; 50% private (18)
The GoI allocated USD 38 bn for education sectors in 2021. Government expenditure on education was 17.2% of total government spending in 2020 (19) and 2.8% of GDP in 2019. (19)
Between 2015 and 2019, government spending on education grew at an annualized rate of 6.8%, reaching USD 35 bn in 2019; annual consumer spending on education is expected to grow at 6% per annum. (9)
Indicative Return
Market is at a nascent stage and no exits have been observed so far.
Usually schools pay USD 5-6/- per student per year, which implies a market size of USD 250 mn (~50 mn students). (16)
PesonaEdu reported revenue of USD 58 mn. (12) Quintal reported USD 1.3 mn revenue in 2021. (14) As of July 2021, Gredu is used by more than 400 schools, with a total of 400,000 users. (15)
Private Equity firms target 20-25% IRRs on their investment. Returns depend on stage of investment and the valuation at the time of exit. Example: Seed fund investors will earn a better return if they hold their investment, than the investors who enter at a later stage.
Investment Timeframe
Medium Term (5–10 years)
Capital intensive business as significant cost and effort is spent on software development and research & development of content. Market is evolving and continuous updation need to be made to the content.
Ticket Size
USD 1 million - USD 10 million
Market Risks & Scale Obstacles
Market - Volatile
Impact Case
Sustainable Development Need
Indonesia ranked 62nd (out of 64 countries) based on math, science, and reading. (22) This highlights the need for improvement in learning environment through platforms which can offer equal access to education facilities and address the learning losses caused by Covid-19.
Teachers are required to leverage new technologies to facilitate classroom learning. 60% percent teachers lack experience in technology-based teaching tools. This is most likely attributed to a lack of access to proper IT equipment and a lack of retraining for education professionals. (9)
Gender & Marginalisation
Reduce gender divide in digital skills. In 2020, the gender gap for mobile ownership and mobile internet was 10% and 14%, respectively (23), indicating that a majority of women were unfamiliar with digital technology and possessed limited digital skills. (24)
Even though, women in Indonesia are disproportionately engaged in heavily impacted sectors such as education [60% women work in education] (24), proportion of adult (aged 15-59 years) females with information and communications technology (ICT) skills is 60.6 (Vs. 67.8 for males) (25)
Expected Development Outcome
Improved education management efficiency and increased educational services coverage as LMS can facilitate virtual or face-to-face learning process between teachers and students, and digital teaching material can be accessed by students anytime and anywhere. (26)
Improved quality of education and educators by retraining to ensure high quality of human capital, competitiveness and productivity.
Improved methods of management in schools by automating processes.
Gender & Marginalisation
Address the digital gender gap, especially in IT education, in order to promote women empowerment. (27) Proportion of adults (aged 15-59 years) with information and communications technology (ICT) skills: Female - 60.60; Male - 67.88 (25)
Ensure standardization of content for teaching across all regions to promote inclusiveness and equal opportunity for all
Primary SDGs addressed
4.a.1 Proportion of schools offering basic services, by type of service
4.a.1 Proportion of schools offering basic services, by type of service
Proportion of schools with access to (b) internet for learning purposes (2018): SD: 34.70 SMP: 49.23 SMA: 69.20 SMK: 75.99 (25)
Proportion of schools with access to (c) computer for learning purposes (2018): SD: 40.38 SMP: 55.00 SMA: 72.92 SMK: 79.00 (25)
Not available as on January-2022
Not available as on January-20228
Secondary SDGs addressed
Directly impacted stakeholders
Gender inequality and/or marginalization
Planet
Corporates
Corporates
Indirectly impacted stakeholders
People
Planet
Corporates
Public sector
Outcome Risks
Increased cost associated with redevelopment and revision of content on a real-time basis to ensure curriculum is updated
Technical breakdowns or connectivity issues may hinder the operational process and limit the effective functioning of the education system
It is crucial to ensure that the customers are engaged with the content to ascertain how likely they are to renew subscriptions. (29)
Gender inequality and/or marginalization risk: Infrastructure disparity between urban and rural areas and between different islands may impact outreach and uptake.
Impact Risks
Increasing inequality due to unequal distribution of resources can hamper regional progress of such models, resulting in concentration of operations in more developed areas.
Poor understanding of key skills can hamper the ability of educators to equip the next-generation workforce with the required skill-set. (9)
Gender inequality and/or marginalization risk: Disparities (in quality of education, workforce, salaries) may arise if the model isn't efficiently managed by personnel (who lack digital skills).
Impact Classification
What
Efficient and effective learning management system for digital interactive learning to improve quality of education
Risk
Regions with better connectivity and infrastructure will benefit over remote areas. Technical breakdowns can hamper the effective functioning of the digital system of delivering education.
Contribution
Research on usage of Rumah Belajar showed: >LMS improves learning outcomes.(30) >Learning Physics through Edmodo can induce an interest in the subject, and improve student scores. (31)
Impact Thesis
Provide access to quality education to improve learning outcomes and learning experience resulting in improved quality of human capital.
Enabling Environment
Policy Environment
Strategic plan of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Center for Education and Culture of the MoEC (2015-19): states the policy directions and strategies for utilization of ICT through the creation of learning systems and applications for e-learning. (32)
Rumah Belajar (MoEC Strategic Plan 2015-19): is an LMS, providing learning materials/communication facilities to support interaction and can be used by students/teachers of Early Childhood Education, Elementary School, Junior High School, High/Vocational School. (32)
GoI plans to update the Law (RUU): concerning the 5th Amendment to Law Number 6 of 1983 so that goods and services consumed by public, such as education services would be subject to different tax rates based on commercialization and curriculum. (33)
MoE Circular Letter No.15 of 2020, contains the Home Learning Implementation Guide which suggests that teachers need to facilitate the implementation of long distance learning online, offline, or a combination of both, according to the conditions and availability of learning facilities. (34)
Furthermore, it mentions that LMS / online integrated LMS through applications can be used to facilitate online distance learning. (34)
Financial Environment
Financial incentives: Imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) is intended for educational services provided by commercial educational institutions and educational institutions that do not implement the minimum curriculum required by the Law on the National Education System. (33)
Fiscal incentives: MoF Reg. no. 149/PMK.03/2021 concerning tax Incentives for taxpayers affected by Covid-19, businesses classified as Web Portals and/or Digital Platforms are classified as taxpayers receiving incentives, wherein income tax under PPH 21 and final income tax is borne by GoI. (38)
Other incentives: Vocational super deductions, namely on expenses/costs incurred by taxpayers for work practices, apprenticeships, or learning activities in the development of certain competencies can receive tax incentives (39).
Regulatory Environment
LMS and portals are categorized under Indonesia Standard Industrial Classification subcategory 6202 (Computer Consulting Activities and Computer Facilities Management) and 6209 (Information technology activities and other computer services). (35)
This sub-categoty includes management and operation of computer systems and/or data processing facilities, on client premises and related support services, as well as providers of integration of IoT hardware and software. (35)
Information Technology Activities and Other Computer Services are classified from Micro Business with low risk up to Large Business with Medium Low risk. (36)
The business must have a National Industrial Information System Account to apply for business license as regulated in Regulation of the Minister of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia Number 9 of 2021. (36)
Presidential Decree Number 10 of 2021 in Article 7: Foreign investors may only carry out business activities in large-sized enterprises with an investment value of >USD 0.6 mn, excluding the value of land and buildings (37).
Marketplace Participants
Private Sector
Corporates: Pesona Edu, Quintal, AIMSIS, Gredu Investors: East Ventures Pte. Ltd.
Government
Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Ministry of Communication and Information Technology
Multilaterals
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB)
Non-Profit
Indonesia teachers association (PGRI)
Target Locations
Indonesia: Countrywide
References
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- (2) Republic of Indonesia. 2020. Indonesia's 2020-2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan https://katalog.data.go.id/dataset/rpjmn-tahun-2020-2024/resource/23e26880-a84f-4443-a16f-1ddb3b69cfeb.
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