The short answer. Vietnam has formally set the direction of making English a second language in the national education system, with implementation rolling out in stages from 2025 onward. For education franchise investors, this is the first time in a generation that policy, parental demand, and the supply gap for premium English centers are all moving in the same direction at the same time.
TL;DR
For most of the last twenty years, English in Vietnam was a subject, taught in schools to fulfill curriculum requirements, supplemented heavily by private tutoring centers. The new policy direction reframes English as a medium, a working language students should be able to operate in by adulthood.
The Politburo’s Conclusion 91-KL/TW, issued in August 2024, instructed the Ministry of Education and Training to develop a roadmap for English to gradually become a second language in the schooling system, beginning with teacher capacity building, curriculum reform, and pilot programs in willing localities. Implementation is staged, not overnight, and the Ministry has been clear that resourcing teachers is the first bottleneck.
For investors, the policy detail matters less than the directional signal: the State has now publicly anchored English proficiency as a national priority, not a private matter. That signal flows downstream into school priorities, parent expectations, and household budget allocation.
Three concrete things change when a country makes English a second-language priority.
Public-school English upgrades create, not displace, private demand. This pattern is consistent across markets that went through similar transitions (Indonesia, Thailand, parts of the Middle East). Public reform sets a higher floor for English proficiency. Parents who want their children above that floor turn to structured private centers for IELTS prep, communicative fluency, and international curriculum exposure. Demand in the private segment expands rather than contracts.
Parents pay for outcomes, not subjects. When English becomes the gateway to university admission, scholarship eligibility, and white-collar employment, parents stop optimizing for cheapest tutoring and start optimizing for measurable outcomes, CEFR levels, IELTS bands, and consistent classroom quality. This favors branded chains with proprietary curriculum and assessment tracks, not single-location independents.
The competitive set narrows to franchisable brands. Market leaders such as Apollo, ILA, and VUS are well-established but not available for franchising; they grew on owned-and-operated economics. International brands that are franchisable, and operate at scale across Asia, are a small group. English 1, with 300+ centers across Asia, including a strong China presence (a market roughly ten times the size of Vietnam’s English language teaching market) and mature operations in Indonesia, sits in that small group.
Vietnam has approximately 24 million students across primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. Spending on private English education has been one of the fastest-growing line items in middle-class household budgets across Tier-1 cities for over a decade. A short, sober view of supply and demand:
| Market signal | Reading for an investor |
|---|---|
| Population pyramid | Still favorable; large school-age cohorts in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities through the 2030s |
| Disposable household income (urban middle class) | Growing at 6–8% annually in HCMC, Hanoi, Da Nang |
| Established branded chains | Concentrated; top 3–4 brands hold majority of premium segment |
| Independent centers | Long tail; quality highly variable; operationally fragile |
| Franchisable international brands | Few; among them English 1 |
| Government posture | Supportive; English is now a stated national priority |
The first row matters more than it looks. Many education investors flinched in 2024–2025 because of headlines about Vietnam’s birth-rate slowdown. But the population of paying parents in Tier-1 cities (the customer for a premium English center) remains structurally healthy through the next decade, because the cohorts already exist and urban migration continues.
Investors evaluating Vietnam usually consider three paths: open an independent center, acquire an existing one, or take a master franchise from an established international brand. Each has trade-offs. We have walked dozens of investors through this comparison; the pattern is consistent.
Independent build. Lowest sticker price, highest hidden cost. The investor underwrites curriculum development, teacher training, brand building, marketing, and parent acquisition from zero. Even experienced operators report a two-to-three-year window before brand equity meaningfully helps enrollment. Quality drift is the most common failure mode.
Acquisition. Possible but expensive in the premium segment, where Apollo, ILA, and VUS-class assets rarely change hands. Smaller independent centers are available and cheap, but typically come with curriculum debt, teacher attrition, and a parent base that signed up for the previous brand promise.
International franchise. Buys a proven curriculum, training system, parent acquisition playbook, and brand permission to charge premium prices on day one. The trade-off is upfront fees, royalty discipline, and operational SOP adherence. For investors with capital but without education-industry depth, this is the highest-probability path to a stable multi-year business.
When the franchisor brings 300+ centers of operating data, a curriculum localized for Vietnam, and visible track record in adjacent Asian markets, the franchise route is structurally lower-risk than building alone.
English 1 is a Swiss-origin English education brand with 300+ centers across Asia. Its differentiation against the Vietnamese competitive set rests on five points:
The standard center is approximately 250 m² with 11–17 classrooms, designed for ages 3–17, with a proprietary curriculum aligned to CEFR (A1–C2) and the IELTS pathway. Classrooms are 100% see-through, a trust signal for Vietnamese parents who routinely visit centers during a child’s lesson.
VF, working alongside English 1, has defined six target investor segments for Vietnam. Wave 1 (HCMC focus) prioritizes:
For Vietnam, the indicative minimum capital is VND 6 billion as a bottom floor. This figure adjusts based on actual capex by site (small, medium, or large center configuration) and may be revised once a detailed Pro Forma is finalized for the local market.
If you are evaluating education as an investment category in Vietnam in 2026, the question is no longer whether the market is moving; the policy direction has answered that. The question is which entry path balances upside against operational risk best for your capital and your time horizon.
Among franchisable international brands at scale in English education, the available set is small. English 1 is one of the few options that combines proven curriculum, multi-market track record, and active Vietnam commitment. We work with English 1 as the appointed advisory partner for the Vietnam rollout, and we run a structured qualification process for every interested investor.
What is Vietnam’s policy on English as a second language?
The Politburo’s Conclusion 91-KL/TW, issued in August 2024, set the direction to gradually make English a second language in the national schooling system. Implementation is staged through teacher capacity building, curriculum reform, and pilot programs led by the Ministry of Education and Training.
Will the public-school English upgrade reduce private demand?
Historical patterns from comparable markets (Indonesia, Thailand, parts of the Middle East) show the opposite. Higher public-school English standards raise the floor and shift parents into structured private centers for outcomes-based programs (CEFR, IELTS).
Can I franchise Apollo, ILA, or VUS?
No. The largest established Vietnamese English chains are owned-and-operated and not available for franchising. Franchisable international brands at scale are a small group; English 1 is among the leading options.
How much capital do I need to open an English 1 franchise center in Vietnam?
Indicative minimum capital is VND 6 billion as a bottom floor. Final figure depends on site configuration and is locked once the Vietnam-specific Pro Forma is finalized.
Do I need education-industry experience to qualify?
No. English 1 trains the system. Track record of business success matters more, alongside management capability, alignment with brand SOPs, and a long-term mindset.
Which Vietnamese cities are open for the first wave?
Wave 1 is focused on Ho Chi Minh City to build critical mass. Hanoi opens in Wave 2 once HCMC has demonstrated sustainable operations and brand traction.
About the author. Sean T. Ngo is CEO and Co-founder of VF Franchise Consulting, Asia’s leading cross-border franchise advisory firm. With 30+ years of experience and 100+ franchise deals closed across 30+ Asia Pacific markets, VF advises international brands on master franchise expansion in ASEAN and MENA, including English 1’s Vietnam rollout.
Apply for a Strategic Expansion Review to discuss the English 1 master franchise opportunity in Vietnam.
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