Bangalore’s Growing Preschool Market

It’s become a cliche among politicians and early education supporters to argue that the United States needs new early childhood investments to prepare our youngsters to compete with workers in India and China–or “Beijing and Bangalore” as Barack Obama recently said. But, as a recent article about preschool franchising in India reflects, parent demand for quality early education options is growing in India and China as well.

Currently, the preschool industry in [India] is estimated to gross about Rs4,004 crore ($985 million). The sector is likely to cross Rs13,821 crore by 2012, a growth of more than 28% per year, according to estimates from brokerage firm CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. With nearly three-quarters of the country’s population under the age of 35, the demand for quality preschools is expected to only intensify.

As economic development progresses in these countries, and job opportunities lure workers away from their extended families, more and more parents need high-quality childcare for their children while they work. At the same time, increasingly affluent families are demanding better, more educationally oriented options for their children. This creates a huge growth market for for-profit childcare and preschool providers (both local companies and American providers are seeking to get in on the game), as well as new economic opportunities for women in these countries to operate childcare and preschool programs.

As we talk about the need for increased early education investments to help our workers keep up with foreign competitors, we shouldn’t lose sight of the growing market for early education options in the very countries we’re seeking to compete with.