Indian FinTech ZestMoney, an AI-driven EMI financing platform, has witnessed some interesting trends during the three-month lockdown triggered by the COVID19 pandemic. The Bengaluru-based company said that it has seen a spike in Education loans on its platform. Founded by Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman in 2015, ZestMoney is one of the fastest-growing consumer lending fintech companies in India.

While online learning has been gaining popularity even otherwise, the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19 has accelerated the demand like never before. With more free time available, people are increasingly embracing professional courses to upskill and stay relevant in their careers, especially at a time when the uncertain economic outlook has impacted jobs across sectors.  Edtech companies have come to their rescue, making available a plethora of options accessible to consumers from the comfort of their homes, the company said in a release.

Courses in Data Science, Machine Learning, Software Engineering, Management, Business Intelligence, and Visualization emerged as popular options. Full Stack development and Backend Engineering were also highly sought after programs on the platform.

Lizzie Chapman, Co-founder, and CEO of ZestMoney said, “Affordability now being a critical factor when it comes to credit, the demand for EMI financing options is at an all-time high. Even in these uncertain times, we have been able to cater to the demand with our early bets on Artificial Intelligence and data mining giving us a definite edge. Our specialized model has been able to predict consumer shift, making it a low-risk business for us. The 100% increase in Edtech players on our platform is a validation that our partners also see that value in us.  We expect this demand to continue.”

Chapman further added that ZestMoney foresees an increased adoption of digital financing in the coming months as the fintech industry continues to play a crucial role in reviving the economy by offering reliable and transparent access to credit. “The early signs look quite encouraging,” Chapman said.

Besides, ZestMoney also saw people with high CIBIL scores (650+) applying for EMI loans, signaling a demand even from premium customers. Demand from smaller towns was also high with over 57% of the applicants for upskilling programs were from Tier-3 markets. Cities like Wayanad, Vellore, Udaipur, Tawang, Uttarkashi especially witnessed an increase in applications. There was a 30% surge in female applicants.

As consumers look for reliable access to credit, ZestMoney has seen a 100% increase in the number of Edtech players on their platform. The company has been able to emerge as the preferred choice for partners by offering fully automated approvals which are some of the fastest and highest in the industry for this category.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the major technological innovations in recent times, set to revolutionise industries across verticals. In simple terms, AI is the capacity of a computer/machine to collect, anticipate, analyse information, recognise patterns and, consequently, perform actions as opposed to natural human intelligence.

AI has permeated industries throughout the years, aiding and executing taxing responsibilities such as customer service (voice assistant services), in automobiles, robotics, etc. Its presence has likewise penetrated the education sector, which can be further corroborated by the surge in edtech startups in India.

With the rise of AI, the Indian learning and e-learning landscape have seen considerable change. Here’s how the power of AI is being capitalised in the field of education:

Modernisation of education

AI aids the process of channeling focus on core concepts of all subjects, while embedding interdisciplinary concepts on the same platform. AI has allowed education to be personalised for students to fit their unique needs. It aids the process of designing and developing technology, which facilitates quick resolution of queries with independent support to students as opposed to a teacher teaching a class of 20+ students.

Meeting unique needs

AI also brings value on the table by procuring information on the unique requirements on students, courses, and their syllabi to develop a holistic and robust learning trajectory. Leading and competing players in the e-learning market have harnessed AI’s ability to recognise patterns, and congregate data by mapping online movement/footprints from numerous sources to decipher the finest techniques of learning for students in general and individuals in particular. It has filled the gaps, which a normal classroom lacks, through clever coding, algorithms, and big data, enabling students to choose subjects, concepts that suit them best in accordance with where their interests lie. In this manner, content isn’t imposed on students unlike in schools.

Ultimately, the student excels in their academic goals and paves way for a brighter future. The same ability throws statistics on how quickly or slowly an individual can digest information besides preferences, interests, and degree of involvement to further help e-learning platforms tailor their offerings for them. AI has ensured a personalised learning journey while making education more relevant to students, parents, and teachers.

Feedback that supports growth

AI lends support by monitoring and mapping the learning graph of a student or an individual. Once the data has been acquired on the individual, it’s scrutinised using advanced analytics for insight generation (strengths and weaknesses) to develop tailored plans for an individual to ensure that the person gets the most out of his/her course online.

Learning can be fun

Artificial intelligence can turn learning into an enjoyable experience. One of the newest ways teachers can engage students online or in a classroom is by using simulation. Leading gaming companies have been using simulation to engage their customers for decades. Many medical and flying institutes have started using computer-powered simulations to put candidates/students in a real-life situation wherein students can react and interact, based on which one can be judged.

This ability can be further used to enable partnerships on a global scale, similar to an electronic student exchange program, where students or individuals could come together and provide answers to solutions or create a collective craft.

Beyond learning

We have adopted AI in all forms, from chatbots to adtech in our lives, making our life simple and easier. We have embraced a greater scientific approach, which enhances strategy, targeting, insight, creativity, knowledge, and experience. Basic and redundant processes are made easy, like the creation of profiles, which require consolidating information of students, which also, at times requires constant updating. Another understated potential is regular updates to the online alumni community. To that end, a feed framework can be created on a subscription basis, to update students with developments in the field and enable them to take calculated steps to enhance their career curve.

Segmentation framework

Another facet of how AI is used in the edtech industry is in the segmentation framework model. Under this, AI aids the study of different data sources that are available to understand their structures for profiling. The data, which is profiled, addresses different objectives, for instance:

• Assessment: Whenever an individual poses a question, with the help of advanced analytics, AI can determine the level of understanding of the student/individual. It helps in assessing whether the analytical intelligence of the student/individual is on par with the level of the concept and whether they have a proper understanding of the subject.

• Cross-selling of content: AI identifies the learning patterns of a student or an individual basis, which it provides them with supplementary learning content to ensure that the individual grasps the concept in its entirety.

• Dropout: When a student or an individual chooses to opt out of a course or arbitrarily drops out, AI is able to determine the reason by determining how interested the individual was in the subject.

With the baseline data and touch points, educators can then proceed to develop predictive model layers over the data to draw and retrieve inferences, which will form the foundation of all future engagements.

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