Why We Invested FutureLab
Kickstarting Engagement and Professional Development
The global EdTech industry has been exploding over the last couple of years and there are no signs of it slowing. The market size was valued at USD 254.80 billion in 2021 and is forecast to reach USD 605.40 billion by 2027, a CAGR of 15.52%. Opportunities are not geographically constrained to just a few markets as there has been rapid adoption across the globe.
EdTech promises to deliver benefits to a wide span of learners across age demographics, socio-economic status, and geography. We’ve seen significant advancements in technological applications geared towards advancing the
existing education institutions (primary, secondary, and tertiary education). Innovations have extended and driven significant growth in upskilling and reskilling as both individuals and companies look to address the mismatch of current workforces and the future of work.
Within Southeast Asia, we have seen an explosion of entrants into the market address a variety of needs cases. The majority of business models are targeted at the B2C markets via online learning, tutoring and test prep, foreign languages, and skills. The B2B market is typically fewer in number, but there are a number of companies targeting the enterprise market.
While the space has been growing, we see significant opportunity within the region, and globally, for further growth and expansion of the use cases. This is what made us excited about partnering with FutureLab, one of Holon IQ’s top 50 EdTech in SEA.
FutureLab offers a global platform for mentorship with an expanding range of potential use cases. It grew out of a basic recognition that people need the guidance of experience, and that mentorship is an ideal means of connecting individuals.
It would be difficult to find any successful individual that would not be able to point o someone in their life that has given them valuable guidance and/or mentored them long-term. Traditionally, this would take the form of a successful family member or family friend, an Educator imparting professional development beyond a syllabus, or a superior or office colleague that would take you under their wing. These are pathways that are not universally accessible and does not scale.
To provide scale opportunity, FutureLab has developed a global platform for mentorship with thousands of highly qualified mentors conducting tens of thousands of mentoring sessions. It is a business that provides not just significant commercial opportunity but substantial social impact potential.
We’ve seen the use cases expand since their launch and the opportunity for further expansion remains highly attractive. They are already seeing significant traction in
- Career Guidance – connecting University students and recent graduates with industry professionals. It is helping in the alignment of career pathways and skill development.
- Professional Learning & Development – enabling enterprises to better manage their human capital, increase engagement, surface talent, foster culture, and many more benefits.
- Start-up Ecosystem – the enablers of a start-up ecosystem, whether government, accelerators or VCs can amplify their value-add by leveraging a platform to connect network of experts to entrepreneurs.
We are excited to partner with the team at FutureLab in delivering a high value solution that will generate an immensely positive social impact. They are driven by an impressive and motivate team and we share an alignment of values. We look forward to seeing them accelerate their growth.
Let’s Build the Future
If you are an entrepreneur that is building a B2B business with global potential.