The Middle East and North Africa region, usually called MENA, has nearly 600 million occupants spread over three continents. The ethnic, cultural, linguistic, economic, and religious composition is very diverse, but still, MENA has a tremendous opportunity to accelerate innovation and close the learning and development gap, especially in the edtech industry.
The MENA region has more than 100 million pupils, who are the region’s future. If the MENA region stands committed to innovation in education, this generation of learners has the potential to transform the region and break the longstanding cycles of economic divide and inequality.
According to the report “Middle East and Africa EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Forecast to 2027,” the MEA EdTech and Smart Classroom market is anticipated to increase from US$ 3,565.0 million in 2019 to US$ 7,626.1 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 9.8% from 2020 to 2027.
The edtech companies in this region are increasingly concerned with enhancing their products by incorporating new technologies and introducing ever-more sophisticated features. Using gadgets like cell phones, interactive displays, computers, and tablets in classrooms, these companies are quickly rising to provide immersive and engaging teaching and learning experiences.
EdTech companies in the MENA region are trying to ride the EdTech growth wave by pushing the limits to beat the competition through cutting-edge tech adoption like Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Blockchain, etc.
A demographic dividend, or economic development fuelled by demographic changes, may occur throughout the Middle East and North Africa during the first half of the twenty-first century as an unprecedentedly big fraction of the population enters its most productive years, as per UNICEF. The region will benefit most between 2018 and 2040 when the dependency ratio is anticipated to be at its lowest. Under some circumstances, this temporary reduction in the population’s dependency ratio can generate shared prosperity and promote an expansion of opportunities for all.
This opens a wide range of options for businesses that provide EdTech and Smart Classroom Solutions to this region’s colleges, universities, and schools. However, countries including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, South Africa, and the UAE have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, these nations’ industrial and economic development has slowed. In spite of all odds, there are a number of edtech platforms that experienced surprising developments and have excelled in the industry.
Below is a list of the top 10 most funded edtech startups in the MENA region.
Let’s check them out:
Abwaab
Total Funding: $27.5 million
Founders: Sabri Hakim, Hamdi Tabbaa and Hussein Al-Sarabi
Investors: 4DX Ventures, BECO Capital, GSV Ventures and Water Partners
Funding Rounds: 4
Headquarter: Jordan
Abwaab, founded in 2019, offers online content tailored to the local programs of high school students, thus filling the educational resource gap.
On Abwaab, students can participate in lessons, access comments and join discussion forums to fight the region’s heavy dependence on offline tutoring. During its final round of Funding, Abwaab raised $20 million through a series of funding rounds to expand its services to Pakistan and Egypt.
Noon Academy
Total Funding: $21.6 million
Founders: Aziz Al-Saeed and Mohammed Al-Dhalaan
Investors: STV, Al-Turki Holding and NFX Ventures
Funding Rounds: 2
Headquarter: Saudi Arabia
Noon Academy, a student-centric social learning platform, offers live, interactive tutoring with “playful” features. Founded in 2013, this edtech start-up integrates “social” and “gamification” functionalities to make learning more pleasant, engaging and collaborative for students.
With its presence in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and India, in 2020, the company raised $13 million in Pre-Series B, led by STV.
Al-Mentor
Total Funding: $14.5 million
Founders: Ibrahim Kamel, Ihab Fikry, Hesham Heikal, Abdelrhman Fahmy and Husni Khuffash
Investors: Sawari Ventures, Partech, Egypt Ventures, and Sango Capital
Funding Rounds: 5
Headquarter: UAE
Al-Mentor is amongst the leading video learning platforms in the region that provides online content for Arabic speakers with a wide array of courses developed by experts.
Founded in 2016, the company has provided high-quality learning experiences to more than 2 million learners through more than 80 business partnerships across the Middle East and North Africa. Al-Mentor raised $6.5 million in a series B round of funding led by Partech in 2021 to maintain the leadership position in the edtech industry.
Orcas
Total Funding: $3.5 million
Founders: Amira El-Gharib, Hossam Taher, Ahmed Ismail and Omar Fayez
Investors: Launch Africa, NFX Ventures and Access Bridge Ventures
Funding Rounds: 5
Headquarter: Egypt
Orcas is a mobile app established in 2013 that connects parents and children to nearby instructors for in-person and online lessons. The platform offers live online and in-person tutoring sessions to kindergarteners through Grade 12.
In January 2022, Orcas secured $2.1 million in pre-series A funding for geographic expansion.
Ostaz
Total Funding: $2.8 million
Founders: Zeina Sultani, Audrey Nakad and Sibylle Nakad
Investors: Inspired Education, Hub71 and Phoenician Funds
Funding Rounds: 5
Headquarter: Lebanon
Founded in 2017, Ostaz helps students find experienced private tutors to assist them in setting learning objectives throughout their academic careers.
In 2021, the company was acquired by the UK-based Inspired Education Group after having enrolled over 43,000 students and clocked over 65,000 teaching hours.
Baims
Total Funding: $2.2 million
Founders: Yousef Al-Husaini and Bader Al-Rasheed
Investors: AlWazzan Education and Rasameel Investment Co.
Funding round: 1
Headquarter: Kuwait
Baims is an online platform established in 2017. It provides students studying in universities of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan with specialized courses.
In 2022, the company raised $2.2 million in a pre-series A fundraising deal to expand its content library and fortify its position in current markets.
Al-Academia
Total Funding: $2 million
Founder: Ahmed Ashour
Investors: Goldmines and Entlaqa
Funding round: 1
Headquarter: Egypt
Al-Academia is a distance learning platform focussing on professional development through small courses from industry experts. The company was launched in the year 2020 after raising $2 million in investments to support the vast digital transformation brought about by COVID-19.
Al-Gooru
Total Funding: $1.8 million
Founders: Khalid Abou Kassem
Investors: Raz Holding Group, Oqal,100 Ventures, Ray Investment and RZM Investment
Funding Rounds: 2
Headquarter: Saudi Arabia
Another player in the online tutoring space, Al-Gooru, is a platform for students to connect with their desired private teachers. It was founded in 2021, and the company received $1.8 million in early-stage Funding to expand its reach in Saudi Arabia’s education sector.
Aanaab
Total Funding: $1.5 million
Founders: Mounira Jamjoom and Naila Al-Khalawi
Investors: Nour Nouf and Wamda Capital
Funding Rounds: 1
Headquarter: Saudi Arabia
Established in 2016, the Aanaab platform facilitates continuous professional and personal development of Arab teachers through distance learning solutions and allows them to acquire Cambridge credentials. Aanaab offers Arabic courses to teachers willing to advance their knowledge in various areas, including self-improvement, educational strategies, procedures, and tools and resources.
The company received its first Funding in 2020 through an investment of $1.5 million to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to explore business opportunities.
Zedny
Total Funding: $1.2 million
Founders: Mohamed Youssef El-Baz and Basil Khattab
Investors: Undisclosed
Funding Round: 1
Headquarter: Egypt
Founded in 2020, Zedny is an Arabic learning and development platform that uses machine learning and gamification to enable human capital to realize their full potential in the workforce. The AI-powered platform puts employees, managers, and individuals on a specified professional learning path by using online courses and animated video summaries of popular business books. These career pathways broaden a person’s horizons by addressing behavioural, social, and business knowledge and office and technological tools.
All of these leading MENA edtech start-ups were established with the goal of assisting organizations and students in adapting to the changing global environment. As previously mentioned, the significant increase in the edtech industry brought on by the pandemic has driven them to grow incredibly. And, as the industry grows, it’s intriguing to see what the future might hold.
