Worldwide, the education sector is among the biggest of all markets, with a global value of over $5 trillion USD, with that figure expected to double by 2030. When measured by revenue alone, Latin America is the fourth largest market in the field of education technology (EdTech). Yet, while these numbers are impressive, the education industry as a whole continues to see minimal technology investments. Here’s a closer examination of how EdTech is transforming eLearning in Latin America and what that means for the individuals in the industry.
The Impact of EdTech on eLearning in LatAm
During the five-year period leading up to 2018, Latin America witnessed an astounding 14% annual growth rate in the eLearning market. From 2013 onward, LatAm has seen impressive adoption of new policies that are pushing the region’s education toward radical digitization.
Ultimately, EdTech is helping ease the burden on educators by helping handle the monotonous and monumental administrative side of education while also making lessons more accessible to citizens at-large. Along these same lines, EdTech is helping beat language barriers by making multilingual content more readily available across the region.
Current State of EdTech in LatAm
LatAm has made impressive strides in the adoption of EdTech, and it has certainly already begun to show positive impacts. However, the region’s vast inequalities introduce unique issues and requirements in the adoption of eLearning.
The number of Latin Americans who have access to the internet has increased substantially over the past five years. The latest numbers show that over half of the LatAm population was connected as of 2019, but 39% of the population still isn’t using mobile internet.
Without widespread access to the latest devices, an overwhelming majority of the population can’t routinely connect to the internet on an individual basis. This emphasizes one of the primary hurdles associated with EdTech in the area: connectivity. Because of this issue, LatAm countries are relying more on television and radio when it comes to broadcasting eLearning.
Of all of LatAm, Uruguay and Chile appear to be spearheading the adoption of EdTech when looking at infrastructure, affordability, consumer readiness, and the overall amount of content and services available. However, while innovation is spreading quickly throughout the region, this has created its own issues. For instance, teachers are quick to adopt whatever technology reaches them first without necessarily seeking out or waiting for the best solution for their needs.
The Four-Year Forecast for EdTech Growth
Education is already one of the biggest industries in the world, currently accounting for over 6% of the world’s GDP. By 2025, the global annual expenditure from companies, consumers, and governments in the education sector is expected to reach $7.3 trillion USD.
Despite this massive anticipated growth, education continues to be plagued by capital issues. Compared to other sectors, few of which predict such impressive future numbers, education continues to be starved of the funding it desperately needs. This same issue of funding harms regions like LatAm as some countries strain to find the resources they require to thrive with EdTech and eLearning.
Ultimately, LatAm is doing an admirable job with its aggressive policies and efforts in the field of education, but the timeline for wholehearted digitization across the region is yet to be seen, and is highly contingent on communities getting the necessary funding and resources to make EdTech a reality for the masses.
