South America E-Learning Market Outlook, 2027

Given the economic condition of the region, the market in 2021 contributed merely a share of 1.1% to the global market. However, the market size was valued at around 2.7 billion in the same year. The e-learning market is growing fast across the region. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed just how far the inequality gap reaches in education, pushing those who were already on the margins further out when learning requires technological tools they simply don’t have. The recent trends of globalization, talent migration, and consistent improvements in corporate competencies and individual talent grooming are some of the key factors contributing to the growth of the South American e-learning market. Through the forecasted period, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 11%. The rising use of products and solutions for digital publishing incorporated with digital technologies in the pandemic is fueling the need for learning modules in the e-learning market in the region. The e-learning market is growing fast across South America. Opportunities are arising for suppliers of e-learning content, hardware, software, and services. Governments are handing out laptops to students; private schools are asking their students to bring in their own computers, tablets, or other devices; and corporations are rolling out e-learning platforms for employees to improve their skills.

According to the research report, South America E-Learning Market Outlook, 2027 the e-learning market is growing rapidly across South America. Various opportunities are arising for suppliers of e-learning content, hardware, software, and services. E-Learning platforms function as classrooms and school offices at the same time, organizing all teaching content and enrollment and student information automatically. These tools are helping to expand the market in different industries by assisting companies in training, skills management, and employee performance assessment. All of this increases demand for content providers, who are witnessing market growth due to increased demand for materials to train or educate employees and students in general. The content provider segment ruled the complete market with a share of over 97% of the market in 2021.

The corporate sector is witnessing the adoption of technologies focused on online education due to the increased demand for effective training courses. These companies are transforming their traditional training techniques, which include workshops and conferences, into more accessible, cost-effective, and efficient virtual training platforms. This allowed the corporate segment to cover approximately half of the market share by 2021. The reduction of costs and the wastage of time are factors of great weight in this change of training method. With the expansion of these resources, the demand for low-cost learning technologies is growing rapidly in the country.

In addition, increasing Internet access is accelerating the demand for online courses. The Brazilian higher education market has witnessed quantitative and qualitative levels of significant advances and developments. Brazil will have a market share of 50% in the year 2021, leading the regional market. Opportunities are arising for suppliers of e-learning content, hardware, software, and services. Governments are handing out laptops to students; private schools are asking their students to bring in their computers, tablets, or other devices; and corporations are rolling out e-learning platforms for employees to improve their skills. One of the major factors restraining the market growth in Colombia is the raging unemployment, which was further fueled by the pandemic. Low disposable incomes and high rates of inflation have made e-learning unaffordable for the majority of Colombians.

With the increasing importance of the mobile learning trend, e-learning providers like Udacity, edX, NovoEd, and Coursera have gained significance in the region. Coursera has partnered with top South American universities to provide original content in Spanish that will be relevant to local e-students, particularly during the pandemic outbreak. The accommodation of learning needs for all types of students, easy repetition of any lecture, access to updated and real-time content, and hassle-free tuition delivery are some of the many advantages of adopting e-learning methodology in the South American market. The increasing mobility of human capital in industries, including tourism, trade, media, international relations, and science and technology, is creating a demand for these services in the South American market.

The vendors are leveraging the internet as an effective tool, enabling successful learning across various end-user segments in an engaging and cost-effective manner. The widened scope of content delivery that includes interactive learning platforms, language training, functional skill development, proficiency testing, and higher education pedagogy, video streaming of classes, corporate training, talent management, and e-governance is transforming the market. The emergence of software applications such as LMS will boost revenues in the South American e-learning market. The incorporation of cloud-based learning, AR, VR, and mobile-based learning applications is modernizing the content delivery models available in the South American market. The introduction of blended learning, which incorporates both off-line and online pedagogy, will enhance the efficiency of instruction at minimal cost and drive demand in the market.

The increasing adoption of mobile and portable devices is augmenting the growth of the South American e-learning market. The increasing use of mobile platforms offers end-users the ease of connectivity and continuous news feeds, peer-to-peer challenges, flashcards, and content collaboration. The rising number of smart-phones and the success of social media channels across South America are enabling the success of audio and text-based applications in the market. The content creators are now able to add bite-sized lessons and deploy learning modules to mobile applications to ensure regular participation among students and teachers in the South American market. The emergence of new educational paradigms to promote hybrid and online learning through social media platforms will help companies reach a wider group of consumers and gain a larger market share. Furthermore, the adoption of cloud-based applications and services will enable accessibility to information on a real-time basis from remote locations. The use of these technologies will facilitate networking and create collaborative environments and platforms in the South American e-learning market.

The recent trends of globalization, talent migration, and consistent improvements in corporate competencies and individual talent grooming are some of the key factors contributing to the growth of the South American e-learning market. Government initiatives to set up sophisticated learning systems are encouraging the migration of many global players to the South American market. The accommodation of learning needs for all types of students, easy repetition of any lecture, access to updated and real-time content, and hassle-free tuition delivery are some of the many advantages of adopting e-learning methodology in the South American market. The increasing mobility of human capital in industries, including tourism, trade, media, international relations, and science and technology, is creating a demand for these services in the South American market. South America is leading the pack when it comes to adopting mobile technology. High mobile technology and internet penetration in the region make it a perfect place for e-learning businesses to thrive.

As of 2017, more than 415 million people out of a population of over 690 million were connected to a mobile network in the region. Approximately 60% of all of the cellular connections are accounted for by smart-phones, which opens all kinds of business opportunities for e-educators. The mass-market adoption of smart-phones in South America has surged dramatically over the last few years because of the subsidies, payment installments, and financing options offered by local mobile companies. High penetration of mobile technology is also seen as a promising development when it comes to rural areas with a lack of wire connections. Often overlooked by e-commerce entrepreneurs, rural areas with mobile telephony can be a goldmine for online educators. Governments and start-ups are stepping up to meet the challenge, delivering learning programs and overcoming the region's connectivity issues.

South America is one of the most unequal regions in the world. Three-quarters of South Americans are categorized as low or lower-middle-income, with 30% living below the poverty line. Though many countries in the region have made significant strides towards lowering income inequality in the past few years, the richest deciles of South Americans still owns 71% of the region’s wealth.

Recent Developments:

• Education Revolution, LLC, the creator of the award-winning Socrates Learning Platform, today announced the upcoming release of Phonics (referred to as Silabas in Spanish) content for South America. This new module is available in Spanish and is designed for students in South American schools as well as for Spanish as a foreign language. The new module contains over 50 new learning videos and thousands of questions on topics designed to meet the curriculum of Mexico and other countries in South America. The Phonics content will be available as part of the upcoming new version of Learn with Socrates. It will be available for use in schools and at home in any of the 22 countries where Spanish is an official language, as well as ELL (English Language Learners) and Spanish as a second language students in the United States and elsewhere.
• Arco Platform Limited, or Arco (NASDAQ: ARCE), recently announced that it has acquired in Brazil the following solutions from Pearson Education do Brazil Ltda.: (i) PGS: previously known as Pearson Global School, a K-12 bilingual courseware and teaching methodology; and (ii) Mentes do Amanh (Mentes): a K-12 supplemental solution focused on 21stcentury skills (social-emotional learning, financial literacy, and technology).
• Instructure (NYSE: INST) recently announced the launch of a channel partner program, which will allow the company to expand rapidly to new international markets and address the complex educational needs of higher education and K-12 institutions worldwide by providing them access to its Instructure Learning Platform. The program is specifically tailored to assist partners in emerging markets and key countries where educational institutions are looking for more robust, flexible solutions to the unique learning challenges facing students today. The Instructure Learning Platform offers teaching management, assessment, content, online programs, and analytics built into an easy-to-implement and use system.

COVID-19 Impacts:

In South America, more than 154 million children, or about 95% of the enrolled students, are temporarily out of school owing to COVID-19. School closures can have a significant impact on children’s education, as well as their health, well-being and safety, and the situation is likely to worsen as isolation measures heighten risks in the home. School closures expose the region’s significant digital divide, or the gap between those who have internet access and those with limited or no access. While students in more developed countries - and primarily in big cities - have moved to online instruction, the reality is that digital education is not an option for everyone. 67% of South America’s population uses the internet, but there are drastic differences between countries. In countries that are considered well-connected, internet penetration in rural areas still only reaches 40-50% of the population; in poorly-connected countries that number drops to an average of 10%. While some governments have been quick to take action and help ensure students have a way to receive educational materials, there are still significant gaps. Innovative approaches are needed to overcome the challenges of connectivity and guarantee access to education for the region’s most vulnerable populations.

Major Companies present in the market

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

Considered In the Report

• Geography: South America
• Historical year: 2016
• Base year: 2021
• Estimated year: 2022
• Forecasted year: 2027

Countries covered:

• Brazil
• Argentina
• Columbia

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.