Middle East & Africa E-Learning Market Outlook, 2027

Vocational education shows immense scope in the UAE market. Many companies in Dubai are, therefore, setting up in-house education systems and institutions. The Middle Eastern market has been increasingly focusing on innovation and e-learning. And therefore, global and regional education providers have been increasingly investing in the development of the same. For instance, the UAE’s Ministry of Education devised the Education 2020 strategy. This strategy outlines critical success indicators for students, teachers, and the administration. The national government is encouraging the adoption of technology in schools to enhance future employability. These developments are aiding the growth of the UAE smart education and learning systems market.

The lack of prominent growth is owed to a lack of investment in the e-learning industry and unequal distribution in terms of e-learning resources such as access to the internet, purchasing power, and electronic gadgets such as laptops, smart-phones, tablets, and computers. According to the report, Middle East & Africa E-Learning Market Outlook, 2027 the market in the year 2021 was around USD 6 Billion. The only online school in the UAE approved by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is iCademy Middle East, which claims to have observed a 200% surge in enrolment. The market for the e-learning industry in the region is expected to show a growth of over 17%, considerably the highest among all the regions. Rising awareness towards distance learning with effective online-based technology that is convenient for students is expected to drive the e-learning market.

In Africa, the WhatsApp messaging service has been adopted for learning. Schools have created learning groups to take pictures of book pages and forward them to parents, while the students could access them. Such trends have contributed to the market share of the e-learning market in the country. The online e-learning segment, along with the virtual classroom segment, holds nearly 70% of the market share in the region. There has been a significant rise in private schools, colleges, universities, and corporate sectors in Middle-Eastern countries. Furthermore, government officials in the Middle East introduce new and effective education mandates to digitize the textbooks of the entire academic sector for the advancement of the region's education system.

However, insufficient security and ethical measures are expected to be a major burden for the key players to overcome these issues in the Middle East and Africa e-learning sector. This restricted the growth of e-learning by governmental agencies to a share of below 10%. However, with multiple sectors emerging, the region indicates a huge market and opens the doors for new players to jump into the market segment. Additionally, massive support from the government authorities in the education sector, rapid pace of modern infrastructure, and adoption of high-end technology are expected to expand the e-learning market in the region. The academic segment is expected to lead the market, with the K-12 sub-segment to show the highest anticipated growth during the forecast period.

Saudi Arabia holds the largest share of the e-learning market in the region. This is owing to the two decades of continued investment in modern digital infrastructure and a robust digital platform, which was only fueled by the pandemic. The lower contribution of South Africa is owing to a lower student enrollment ratio and even less internet penetration, which became a need in the pandemic. Increasing awareness regarding the need for regular internet supply is expected to incite government investment in the upcoming years. Due to high income and availability of internet connections and electronic devices, and various schemes launched by the government, the market share is expected to increase in the upcoming years. Furthermore, Turkey’s smart learning sector is expected to witness new trends in computer technology. This is because the country is able to realize the radical changes taking place in the field of education and is hungry for all kinds of reforms and technological advancements. In addition, the growing internet penetration in the country has created a huge user base for smart learning systems.

Thus, the rising number of internet users, growing efforts by the government to promote smart learning, the adoption of the latest technology, and the rise in the use of LMS (learning management systems) by the corporate sector to integrate their processes are factors that are expected to drive Turkey’s smart education and learning system market further in the near future. SAP SE provides enterprise application software and related services. It offers customer relationship management (CRM), human capital management, data management, and supply chain management (SCM) solutions. The company’s lines of business include asset management, finance, commerce, manufacturing, human resources, supply chain, marketing, engineering, and sustainability. SAP's products and solutions are tailored to a variety of industries, including discrete manufacturing, consumer, financial services, energy & natural resources, and public services. The company has a notable presence in the Middle East and Africa.

Further, the rising trend of artificial intelligence is expected to create a surge in the market demand for education and learning analytics. The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to learning analytics has achieved a high degree of output in educational institutes. AI addresses problems such as high dropout rates and the ineffectiveness of the one-size-fits-all teaching approach, among others. The AI-based learning solution offers professors some insights on students' learning styles, abilities, progress, and suggestions to customize the teaching methods as per the student's requirements. The implementation of AI in learning analytics is an ideal solution to most of the common educational issues. The increasing demand for AI and the trend of integrating AI with learning analytics are expected to have a positive impact on the MEA education and learning analytics market growth during the forecast period.

The rise in the economy of the Middle-East region due to huge investments in the expansion of corporate sectors will make it easier to spread the culture of each corporate organization through e-learning programs and training. Promotion of digitization of learning and training by providing electronic gadgets to the population by the government authorities is taking the Middle-East region a step ahead in the sector of online education/e-learning. Because of the emergence of multiple sectors throughout the Middle East region, this indicates a large market for suppliers and opens the door for new players to enter the Middle East online education/e-learning sector. Furthermore, massive government support in the education sector, the rapid pace of modern infrastructure, and the adoption of cutting-edge technology are expected to expand the Middle-East region's online education/e-learning market. However, insufficient security and ethical measures are expected to be a major burden for the key players to overcome these issues in the Middle-East online education and e-learning sector. The high cost of online education and e-learning and rising security concerns among employees are some of the factors which are expected to hamper the growth of the Middle East online education and e-learning market.

Middle East online education & e-Learning market is expanding owing to the rising investment by the government authorities to digitize the education sector. For instance, in October 2012, the UAE government indicated that they were on track to get 400 schools equipped with learning platforms by 2015, well ahead of schedule on a project that started in 2010 to deploy learning technology in all 425 state-run public schools. This effectively creates a nationwide delivery platform for suppliers that will reach over 294,000 students.

COVID-19 Impact:

Furthermore, in the case of COVID-19, Saudi Arabia has the largest COVID-19 cases in the MEA and is followed by Iran, South Africa, and the UAE, among others. The UAE was the first country in the MEA to report a confirmed case of corona-virus. The UAE ministry of education has announced that university teaching will shift online. In Dubai, schools and colleges, as well as nurseries, have also been closed. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority has launched a new online platform for learning. The portal has been launched to connect technology and well-being-based organizations with teachers, parents, and students who are teaching and learning from home. Also, in Saudi Arabia, educational institutions have been closed since March. Most schools and universities in the country have implemented e-learning programs to allow students to continue their classes. To support university students and members, enhance the quality of learning platforms and virtual classrooms, and provide better access to national digital services, the Saudi Research and Innovation Network (Maeen) has partnered with the Integrated Telecom Company.

Major Companies present in the market

Adobe Inc., Cisco systems Inc., Citrix system Inc., Docebo Inc., Gp Strategies Corporation, Oracle corporation, Pearson plc, Skillsoft Corporation

Considered In the Report

• Geography: Middle East & Africa
• Historical year: 2016
• Base year: 2021
• Estimated year: 2022
• Forecasted year: 2027

Countries covered:

• UAE
• Saudi Arabia
• South Africa

Aspects Covered In the Report

• Market Size By Value for the historic time period (2016-2021)
• Market Size By Value for the forecast time period (2022-2027)
• Market Share by Technology (Online e-learning, LMS (Learning management system), Mobile e-learning, Rapid e-learning, Virtual classroom, Others)
• Market Share by Producers (Service & Content)
• Market Share by Application (Academic, K-12, Higher education, Vocational training, Corporate, SMBs, Large enterprises, Government)
• Market Share by Country (2016, 2021 & 2027F)

Intended Audience

This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to the E-learning industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.