Learning and earning

Rising demand from the middle class, positive investors and technology brighten prospects for online education firms

In October 2016, Shanghai resident Song Yujiao, 34, a procurement manager at a pharmaceutical company and mother of You Zhenyu, 4, decided to do what millions of others of her ilk have been doing of late - she booked an expensive cross-border online education course for her brat.

Initially, she was skeptical if the English-language program would be effective. The male teacher, Matthew Privette, 27, was based thousands of miles away in South Carolina. The online course, offered by VIPkid, is received on Song's 15-inch laptop.