Updated on: Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Mumbai: High returns, scalability and huge mismatch in supply and demand have made private equity funds bullish about education sector
The report titled, 'Private Equity Pulse on Education', said PE firms and venture capital investors have already made over 30 investments worth USD 300 million in education-related companies in recent years.
A recent poll conducted by Venture Intelligence among 90 PE investors found that over 80 per cent of them were interested in investing in education.
'The poll clearly shows that education is a 'piping hot' investment destination among PE investors,' the report said.
Quoting a study by CLSA Asia Pacific, the report said that the country's education and training sectors offer private institutions an estimated USD 40 billion market which could grow at about 15 per cent per annum.
The report, however, points out that investors also have concerns like regulatory uncertainty surrounding 'for profit' ventures. Besides, lack of quality teachers and political interference have been listed as major concerns.
'50 per cent of the PE firms felt regulatory hurdles are a significant deterrent to the free flow of investment into the education industry,' the report said.
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