The Vietnamese digital market is one of the fastest-growing in the world, but there is an increasing IT shortage. In fact, many children wish to learn to code, yet schools do not offer a sufficient curriculum.

According to Tung Nguyen, with the help of an online/offline education platform that focuses on preparing students for tech professions, many kids will be able to study this.

MindX, a Vietnamese startup that develops and markets AI-powered coaching software for organizations, announced that they will support tech education with the help of Wavemaker Partners, Thien Viet Securities (Vietnam’s second-largest investment bank), and an unnamed U.S.-based investor, bringing the company’s total to more than $5 million since its inception in January 2019.

MindX also benefited from Beacon Fund’s debt financing, which specializes in businesses started by women. The company will use the $32 million to expand its internet platform, create additional instructional material, and enter Vietnamese Tier 2 and 3 cities and rural regions. The company intends to establish a network of IT firms that hire graduates of its programs.

Photo Credits: MindX

Its courses are designed for three-years-old children through grade twelve as well as undergraduate students. It claims that alumni have worked as software engineers at firms including Google, Amazon, and Shopee after completing their studies.

The firm will begin providing an income share agreement to students who join MindX with the aim of becoming technical professionals, so they won’t be charged upfront tuition. Tung also commented:

“One concern for parents with low-income levels is that they want their kids to have a guaranteed job placement, but they don’t want to run out of money for tuition. They asked for financing solutions and we plan to implement the income sharing model by the end of this year for our students.”

A course like this may be an excellent alternative for students looking to advance their skills in another industry, particularly when it comes to programming. A program geared toward students with prior experience working in software companies in Vietnam, will be one example. It’ll teach students how to look for a higher-paying job in Singapore and how to pay back their tuition after they start working.

Tung Nguyen and Ha Nguyen started MindX as a non-profit in 2015. Both were employed at technology firms at the time, and taught part-time coding classes between their jobs. After a year, demand had grown to the point where the two decided on committing full-time to MindX as a company.

MindX nowadays has 13 offline locations in Vietnam, in addition to its online education platform, and claims it has been successful for the previous six years, even during COVID-19. What is more, the two founders claim that as of September 2021, the company had experienced a 1,000 percent year-on-year increase in internet enrollment.

MindX also adds that its graduate hiring rates are 100% in Vietnam and 55% in Singapore. Some of the businesses also act as educational collaborators. Tung Nguyen noted:

“We didn’t have opportunities to study technology early in our lives. For example, I was born in a poor working family, in a remote province in Vietnam. Computers were very, very expensive, they cost a fortune for most Vietnamese families at that time, so of course my family could not afford one for me.”

The creators of MindX say that in Vietnam, many STEM education institutions offer only 3 to 4-month programs. What MindX aims is to provide different choices ranging from one year to ten years. Most parents and students initially opted for shorter programs but have lately seen a rise in students enrolling for 2-, 5-, or 6-year courses to prepare for a technical profession. After completing their educational programs, MindX’s career advisors assist students in creating CVs and preparing for job interviews.

A portion of the raised money will be used to apply blockchain technology to track the connections between MindX alumni and the employers that hire them, allowing applications and interviews to be automated.