“There are a lot of new things happening in the digital education sector, but it is still a very new
area and a lot remains to be explored, however, I want to give a warning to all the people who are using it,
because it is very new and niche, there remains huge a possibility for exploitation.” – Nikhil Vora
Nikhil Vora, Founder, and CEO, Sixth Sense Ventures, Sanjay Mehta, Founder and partner,100X.VC, Murali Krishna V Head of investment and strategy, Kolte Patil Group, speak to Ms. Janani Janarthanan, of BWBusinessworld editorial team about trends that influence digital adaptation in today’s day and age
Janani Janarthanan: What are the new trends you have seen in the last few months, and how much change do you see happening in the market at the moment?
Nikhil Vora: A lot has happened in the last few months, I mean things that would have happened in the next five to eight years have just got fast-tracked due to the pandemic, and these changes are not exclusive to any one domain, changes have taken places across all domains. The shift has not happened due to the pandemic only although it was a driving force, the change in consumers’ behavior has also resulted in these new changes.
Sanjay Mehta: In terms of investment there was a disruption due to the virtual shift, but in terms of opportunity we have seen major growth, especially due to the shift in the consumer’s behavior the market has opened up and we are seeing a new opportunity for growth and investment. Another major opportunity in change which we have seen is the home economy, we are today due to delivering everything at the doorsteps of the consumers, now there are many applications coming out in the market which is exploring the home economy. However, this area remains to be explored as we have to find ways to deliver things to the doorsteps of the consumer.
Murali Krishna V: Due to the pandemic we have been accelerated almost five years in our timelines, we are 5 years ahead in adopting the digital platform into our workspaces and into our lives as a whole. The two sectors that have adopted the most changes in terms of incorporating digital is the construction and education sector, and we should note that these new changes are here to stay.
Janani Janarthanan: How are these new trends in the education sector going to stay?
Nikhil Vora: Learning in online as well offline spaces are going to be there, there will be dual learning. But duel learning is going to be critical, however, I am sure that offline is not going to go away completely, mostly these two forms online and offline will be coexisting. We will be seeing parallel learning. Today we are seeing the tier 1 and tire 2 cities adapting to these new changes, and in the near future, these online trends are going to stay.
Janani Janartthanan: What are the new trends you see in the market?
Sanjay Mehta: We are seeing new things happening and not only in one sector but across all domains. Today there is a company using Artificial Intelligence to explain concepts to the students and also to provide grades. I also see a lot happening in the vernacular area, and there is a lot of transactions happening which is actually being brought by different start-ups. Today’s entrepreneurs are trying to solve different problems and helping people to go online and adapt to the new changes that are happening in the new environment.
Janani Janarthanan: What are the different verticals of digital education?
Nikhil Vora: There are a lot of new things happening in the digital education sector, but it is still a very new area and a lot remains to be explored, however, I want to give a warning to all the people who are using it because it is very new and niche, there remains huge a possibility for exploitation. Hence, I want people to be careful of the digitalization trap, people should be very careful also for the exploitation of the economy. On the macro site if we see, it is definitely increasing today we have so many applications for one thing for instance for the OTT platform you have Netflix, amazon prime, etc. for music you have so many applications and so on and this is increasing. The distribution channel has also shifted to online from offline, hence, there are too many players at the moment evolving, therefore one should be careful.
Janani Janartthanan: What are the future trends we can expect?
Murali Krishna V: We all are moving into the virtual space. In the last year, everything has been changed, it feels like the change has happened to us overnight. Today the role of technology in our lives as well as in our workplaces has significantly increased, we are using a lot more tech in new ways. The traditional way is gone and the new trends which are going online or digital is going to stay and one of the major reason for the same is the significant shift in the consumers’ behavior, people have seen the convenience with the technological advancement and hence, the new trends are going to stay with us.
Source: Business World
