Geniebook, Singapore’s largest EdTech platform for English, Mathematics and Science (EMS) syllabi, is continuing its expansion in Vietnam with a new local office and a renewed mission to foster 1 million changemakers in one of Asia’s most dynamic markets.
Since the start of 2019, Geniebook has achieved impressive revenue growth of over 2,000 percent, with a fast-growing user base of over 220,000 in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam alone, the company’s revenue has grown three times over compared to figures from 2020. In October 2021, Geniebook reported that it raised $16.6 million in Series A funding led by East Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation by angel investors.
Geniebook is known for incorporating cutting-edge technology, most notably artificial intelligence, in its efforts to create an effective and accessible learning platform. The company’s main offering is a powerful suite of online learning products to help students accelerate their academic improvement for subjects including English, Chinese, Mathematics, and Science, all of which are based on Singapore’s national curriculum for primary and secondary school levels. These products include GenieSmart, an AI-personalised worksheet generator with documented improvements by 90 percent of participating students after attempting eight worksheets; GenieClass, a streaming platform for live online classes with over 100 lessons scheduled each week across all subjects and levels; and GenieAsk, an online moderated chat platform connecting groups of 50 students with representative Geniebook teachers for academic help and discussions.
“From personalised worksheets for targeted improvement, animated presentations and interactive demonstrations to a gamified rewards system, these features make Geniebook an unstoppable flywheel of improvement.” – Neo Zhizhong, Geniebook Co-founder & CEO.
Geniebook’s guiding purpose is to help students learn a thousand times faster so they can become confident contributors to society. Notably for Vietnam, Geniebook is on a mission to better equip local students with the academic knowledge necessary to secure a brighter future for themselves, and foster a generation of determined changemakers able to shape the world around them according to their shared vision.
This push towards accelerating students’ learning comes in parallel with statements made by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as well as the World Economic Forum (WEF) in recent years on the need to prepare the youths of today for the challenges of tomorrow.
In 2018, OECD launched The Future of Education and Skills 2030 project to learn how education can equip learners with agency, a sense of purpose, and the competencies required to shape their own lives and contribute to the lives of others.
“Students will need to develop curiosity, imagination, resilience, and self-regulation; they will need to respect and appreciate the ideas, perspectives, and values of others; and they will need to cope with failure and rejection and to move forward in the face of adversity. Their motivation will be more than getting a good job and a high income; they will also need to care about the well-being of their friends and families, their communities, and the planet.” (OECD, 2018)
In a briefing made several years later in 2022, experts from the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network made the following statement:
“Technological innovation is fundamentally transforming education and updating the skills required for modern work. Building future-ready (and pandemic-proof) education systems require curricula fit for the 21st century, coupled with the consistent delivery of widely accessible instruction that builds a solid foundation for a lifetime of adapting and developing new abilities. Specialised education should focus in particular on skills that are in demand in the real world and address the disconnect between employer needs and available talent pools.” (WEF, 2022)
For its part, Geniebook is pioneering the future of learning with personalisation and innovations designed to build these vital 21st century skills beyond academic improvement. For instance, Geniebook students can learn from and with their peers in our academic communities, while personalised improvement dashboards encourage self-directed learning and content mastery, with support for gamification features like rewards and streaks to keep learners engaged. Other initiatives to deliver an engaging and effective means of supplementary education include hybrid O2O experiences, expert consultations for parents, annual nationwide Changemakers bootcamps, tech competitions and many more.
“We are always eager to find more ways to help students reach their academic goals.” – Alicia Cheong, Geniebook Co-founder & COO.
With a foothold in Vietnam now achieved, Geniebook is excited to begin playing a significant role in fostering a talented generation of academically competent, self-directed, creative, and technologically savvy global learners in the country.