Moderator: Equity investments as a catalyst or constraint for education innovation
EdTech Asia Summit 2023 · Smart Capital track · moderator
What was covered
Jeremy moderated the panel “Equity Investments as a Catalyst or Constraint for Education and Workforce Innovation: Early to Late Stage Finance Perspectives” in the Smart Capital track of the EdTech Asia Summit on 3 November 2023. It looked at how equity, debt and alternative financing shape education and workforce companies.
Key points
- Date and venue: 3 November 2023, 10:15–10:55am, Rama Room (Smart Capital track)
- Format: 40-minute panel with no individual presentations or slides, not live streamed or recorded
- Moderator: Jeremy Au (Monk’s Hill Ventures)
- Panelists: Kaushik Mohan (Investment Director, EMK Capital), Gaurav Jain (Principal, Kaizenvest), Heyu Huang (Partner, Fresco Capital) and Adriel Yong (Head of Investments, Ascend Angels)
- The growing role of debt-based financing, and the pros and cons of alternative financing
- Whether taking in VC or PE helps or hinders, including red flags before accepting it and a success story in Southeast Asia
- How investment can speed growth without compromising an educational mission, and how equity affects a startup’s autonomy and innovation
- The challenges of scaling tech-driven education companies across culturally and linguistically diverse regions, and regulatory hurdles
- Balancing technology with accessibility in lower-income areas, and successful public-private partnership models for financing education and workforce innovation