Attended a $SASBADI / 5252 (SASBADI HOLDINGS BERHAD) discussion earlier today where CEO Mr. Law King Hui and team were very generous and shared their insights. Here are some key takeaways:

CEO’s View:
o Believe that they are moving towards a tech company, value creating content.

Why was ICT unsuccessful for education initially?
o Additional aspects outside of technology are important for facilitating Edtech e.g. parental support.

Content Design and Compliance
o Knowledge base and know-how is in the digital education landscape.
o They believe experience in education allows them to gain an edge over the newer startups.
o They believe updated and comprehensive content is important. However, they are used as supplementary material rather than formal education. Hence, they believe they have an edge in terms of the content compared to the other Edtech startups as they have experience in publishing.

COVID-19
o A lot of schools are now looking for a hybrid solution but are unable to do so because of the lack of infrastructure.

Ownership
o A notable fact is that the CEO has not sold a single share since IPO.

Core Competencies
o They have been MOE’s strategic partner for robotics in schools.
o They have been building capacity and track record in order to win contracts from the government. This is mostly involving their robotics initiative.
o They have also started publishing non academic content.

Industry Outlook
o Don’t have to grow market size, only have to grow market share because every child will receive education. As long as population increases, market size will increase.
o Governmental support with the new digital blueprint is a strong tailwind.

Plans and Strategies
o Plan to focus on content creation and expanding their Tutor2u capabilities.
o Developing new app that allows users to highlight and read aloud words on the books.

New Products
o Related to English Language skills such as Linguaskill.
o Freelancing platform Tutor2u.