Edtech apps for kids under 8 years a $9.5-billion market: Blinc Invest

Bengaluru: Edtech apps for children under eight years of age are few and far between but a new study indicates that it could be a $9.5-billion market.

Startups in the early childhood care and education segment are growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% over the last 10 years, the study by venture capital firm Blinc Invest shows.

But from the venture capital and private equity perspective, the sector has hardly received any funding—in India as well as across the globe, Amit Ratanpal, founder and managing director at Blinc Invest, said. “But we believe it will gain traction as we move forward.”


As the K-12 segment continues to get crowded with startups, new companies are likely to emerge in the early childhood education sector as well.

Blinc Invest backs startups exclusively in the fintech and edtech sectors. It has made three investments in the education sphere so far. “Within the education sector, we found a white space here and that’s why we thought it would be worth it for us to make a potential investment in the early childhood area, which we intend to do,” Ratanpal said.

The company announced the launch of its Rs 100-crore SEBI-registered Category II Alternate Investment Fund earlier this year. The fund is expected to achieve its final close by the end of 2021.

Blinc sees a large market opportunity in learning startups—those that teach languages, coding and math skills. Startups in this space have received $80 million in funding so far. “A lot of them focusing on languages in the past were only teaching English. Now there are those that also help kids learn local languages,” Ratanpal said.

Startups that offer digital storybooks are set to grow. Through storytelling, kids can learn life skills, according to Ratanpal. “Although there aren’t many in India who are doing this at the moment, over the next few years, there will be companies that emerge that will offer digital storybooks,” he said.