Glenn Blogs

  EdTech in Emerging Markets – Why Vietnam Looks Promising (and Why Thailand Might Not) Everyone loves throwing “EdTech in emerging markets” into a pitch deck. Sounds huge, right? But if you’ve been paying attention to the mess at Byju’s, you know high growth in user numbers doesn’t automatically mean the business works. Byju’s in India went cash flow negative — likely overspending on marketing, brand building, and aggressive customer acquisition. That’s not automatically bad if the spend pays back quickly. For EdTech, a healthy CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) payback is under 12 months, with the best subscription models hitting 5–7 months. Global Market Context The global EdTech market is still growing strong: CAGR: 15–16.3% Projected value: $404B by 2025 But multiples have collapsed — from 7.2x in Q4 2020 to 1.6x by Q4 2024. Emerging markets are a different animal entirely. Vietnam – High Potential Vietnam’s fertility rate is at 1.96 , income growth at 9.6% Yo...

  Why Blackstone Invested Heavily in CARE Hospitals in India When Blackstone decided to enter the Indian healthcare market, one of its most notable moves was acquiring CARE Hospitals — a major player with a strong presence in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and other emerging healthcare hubs such as Aurangabad and Raipur. This decision was not random. It was driven by a mix of strategic healthcare positioning, technology adoption, market demand, and real estate potential. 1. Strategic Geographic Presence CARE Hospitals has a dominant footprint in key cities like Visakhapatnam , Hyderabad , and Raipur . Hyderabad is one of India’s fastest-growing life sciences hubs, accounting for nearly: One-third of India’s pharmaceutical production One-fifth of pharmaceutical exports One-third of global vaccine output The region has seen a 56% YoY increase in office leasing by life sciences firms , indicating strong demand for medical infrastructure and research facilities. (https...