Synkers, a Lebanon-based edtech startup that constantly connects learners to highly qualified private teachers, has raised $1.8 million in a pre-Series A funding round.
The round was led by Dr. Lama and Dalia Al Sulaiman, with participation from 500 Startups, Phoenician Funds, ISME Kafalat, Mulcan Investment, Seeders, Crescent Capital, and Dubai Angel Investors.
Founded in 2016 by Zeina Sultani and Audrey Nakad, Synkers operates as an online marketplace for tutoring services, offering its users a personalized and accessible education experience by matching every learner with the right tutor or mentor. It also offers a wide variety of courses, from school and university subjects to prep tests and professional skills development.
Synkers aims to build the largest community of knowledge exchange. It ensures that all its tutors and mentors are certified, well trained and equipped to build well-rounded students that are able to reach their highest potential with regard to their hard and soft skills. The startup currently operates in the Lebanon and UAE and has more than 60,000 learners and 1,000 tutors and mentors on its platform.
Speaking about the company in line with their focus of encouraging and helping students to grow, Audrey Nakad, Co-founder and CEO, Synkers, said,
“No matter how hard the journey of an entrepreneur is, the impact of our work on our students’ performance pays it all off completely.”
Synkers allows students to decide when to meet, how much they’d like to pay and choose to conduct their one-on-one session online or in-person with a qualified private tutor. The platform currently provides face-to-face tutoring sessions in Lebanon, and online sessions everywhere in the world.
The startup plans to use the latest funding to enhance its product and technology to offer a better personalized learning experience, and also to strengthen its presence in the existing markets and expand to new markets, especially Saudi Arabia.
One of the investors in the round who wished not to be named, as per a press statement, commented on the funding saying,
“We invested in the Synkers team and the founders behind the vision, as we strongly believe that they have the potential to disrupt the education industry.”
According to a press statement, Synkers had previously raised an undisclosed amount in seed round from 500 Startups and Phoenician Funds in June 2020 and a $30K in pre-Seed round from Speed Accelerator in April 2016.