Taiwanese Online Learning Startups Flourish During Pandemic, Make Headway in APAC

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 15 June 2021 – The
COVID-19 pandemic has led to a boom in homeschooling. At the same time, it has
accelerated the development of online learning platforms around the world.
According to the “2020 Asia-Pacific Independent Learning White Paper” published
by the online self-learning startup Snapask, COVID-19 has changed the way we
learn in many countries. The number of Snapask users has increased
exponentially in Asia-Pacific (APAC), especially in Korea
(275%) and Japan (173%). According to the “2021 White Paper” published by
Taiwan’s biggest online education platform Hahow, in 2020, its number of users
increased by 60%, its revenue doubled to reach 270 million NTD, and traffic to
its online platforms grew by 150%.  

Taiwanese online learning startups Hahow, VoiceTube and Snapask flourish during Pandemic

In mid-May, the number of COVID cases spiked in
Taiwan. Concurrently, traffic for Hahow’s enterprise-level courses “Hahow for
Business” grew by 200%, while the average time spent on these courses more than
doubled. The online English-learning platform VoiceTube reported that the
number of web version users grew 75% month-over-month, while the number of new
registrations on Snapask grew 35% month-over-month. All this goes to show that
education has moved online after schools closed. Students are eagerly looking
for learning resources on the internet to educate and improve themselves.
 

Hahow, VoiceTube, and Snapask are three online
learning platforms that are participating in “EduStartup 20+”, a startup
accelerator program cocreated by Taiwan’s National Development Council and
CommonWealth Parenting, the most influential education brand in the
Chinese-speaking world. All three companies are pursuing a proactive market
strategy that will expand their presence in the APAC region. For example, Hahow
is targeting Chinese-speaking users in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. By
developing suitable intellectual property for lecturers, Hahow seeks to
optimize its user experience by promoting content overseas and attracting
international traffic. By providing educational content for free in smaller
packages, VoiceTube has so far been able to secure 300,000 new user
registrations in Japan. Beginning this month, VoiceTube will offer paid content
in Japan featuring advanced educational functions and courses. As for Snapask,
it is mainly focusing on markets in Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia. It
will introduce online video courses based on the local curriculums and provide
afterschool learning programs for middle-schoolers. 

The National Development Council has devoted a
lot of effort to helping Taiwanese startups compete on the world stage. Besides
introducing Taiwan’s national startup brand “Startup Island Taiwan” and the
“Asia Silicon Valley Development Plan”, the current plan to “Accelerate
Taiwan’s Education Startups on the World Stage” has provided resources for
companies qualified for the “EduStartup 20+” program for two consecutive years.
In the future, the National Development Council will continue to help these
companies connect with the global market, establish a presence overseas, and
broaden the international influence of Taiwan’s startup brands.