Reaching out to Worldwide Clients through Hong Kong

UK-based education consultant Online Education Partnership seeks opportunity to expand to Mainland and the region.

Online Education Partnership (OEP) is an education advisor headquartered in the UK. Founded in 2015, OEP offers a broad range of education services including online tutoring, entrance exam preparation, as well as advisory services for students on selecting and gaining admission to boarding schools and universities around the world.

With staff based in the UK, Switzerland, New Zealand and now Hong Kong, OEP also works with aspiring students looking to study outside of their own countries and help them with the application, which is the first and one of the most crucial steps for students’ overseas academic journey.

According to Rebecca Merrett, Managing Director, Hong Kong is a natural choice for OEP to set up its regional headquarters. She said, “Parents here care deeply about their children’s education and are prepared to invest in it. Families also expect a very high level of service, which is something we pride ourselves on delivering. So we knew that we would have a good market here.”

“It is also easy to set up a company in Hong Kong,” Merrett added, “importantly for startup businesses like OEP, one can hire staff and freelance support with minimum red-tape.” Merrett added that, as they run an online business, the stability and strength of the internet provided by Hong Kong is pivotal.

Establishing in Hong Kong not only allows OEP to reach their worldwide clients more easily with the time zone, but also, as the company is looking to expand to Mainland China, Hong Kong is an ideal place in terms of geography and language ability.

Currently with three people in the Hong Kong office, OEP is expanding the team and its activities globally. “One of the things we love about Hong Kong is that we can respond quickly to changes in the market,” Merrett remarked, “when we see opportunity, we can jump on and invest into it.”

She also thinks that Hong Kong offers a deep talent pool for the education industry. “We were able to find people with a combination of knowledge in our sector and with the right working attitude,” she said, “we also need people who are multi-lingual as our clients speak English, Cantonese and Mandarin.”

Merrett appreciates the assistance provided by InvestHK and she is always recommending people who are starting a business in Hong Kong to contact the department. “InvestHK team is quick to respond to any questions and the knowledge of the team has allowed us to avoid lots of mistakes that we may have made,” she said, “they also provide excellent networking opportunities, which is so important in Hong Kong where word of mouth is such a powerful marketing tool.”