31

Education-tech is booming. It is about the use of technology to innovatively and effectively impart knowledge and increase the skills of its user base and make them future-ready.  Beas Dev Ralhan, Co-founder and CEO of Next Education India Pvt. Ltd., an ed-tech company, spoke to BE’s Ankit Singh.

 Q. What is the business model of Next Education? Tell us about your products and services.

A. Next Education India is an end-to-end EdTech solutions provider that follows B2B and B2C business models. In 2009, we launched our first product, LearnNext – a self-learning home-based solution for children. The response we got for the product was overwhelming, and there was no looking back after that. The Next ecosystem has been steadily enriched with numerous solutions catering to different stakeholders belonging to the academic sector. NextCurriculum, NextLabs, TeachNext and NLP are the four vital parts of the Next ecosystem. They enhance the significance of learning by incorporating hands-on learning activities and a learner-centric approach.

Q. What was the reason behind starting this business?

A. During my days at IIT Bombay, I realised that to make an impact on modern society, one has to build companies supported by the latest technologies. Raveendranath Kamath, my friend and colleague from PartyGaming had the same vision. Both of us desired to employ technology to make a social impact in India. In 2007, a focussed market study helped us realise that the Indian education sector was least impacted by technology. With technology as our ally, we wanted to devise innovative methods to make education accessible and affordable for all.

Q. How is it different from other players in the education sector?

A. More than a decade ago, we had envisaged a not-too-distant future when quality education would be within the reach of every child. Keeping an organic approach towards academics to make learners future-ready and not just well equipped for competitive exams, was what we aimed for, which later became the core USP of Next Education. Seamless integration of content for effective learning and instruction and smart administrative solutions for improved planning and reporting has made our company one of the finest end-to-end education solutions providers in the country.

Q. What are the future plans of your company?

A. From the time of inception, all products launched by Next Education have been quite impactful. After becoming a familiar name in the Indian education spectrum, we find that there are many avenues left to be explored. In the B2B K-12 space, we have several lines of business that are showing traction. We are now exploring several lines of business in this space worth approximately $10-$20 million each. Additionally, since 2016, we have been expanding our business in the Middle East and this year, we opened a branch in Dubai.

Q. Is the company affected by the recent economic slowdown?

A. The education sector is a booming industry. The future of a country depends on better education. Also, it is one of the last elements to be impacted by a consumer’s discretionary income. Therefore, we believe that the industry will keep growing. However, parents and schools are becoming increasingly cautious about what they spend on and are looking to validate the products as well as check their pedigree before making purchases.