As the global Edtech market is expected to reach the US $40 billion by 2022, according to Valustrat, UAE’s EdTech industry has also risen to the occasion. In recent times, we’re seeing a steady rise in the Edtech startups in UAE.

Furthermore, the growth of EdTech startups in the UAE has been sped up by the support of the government. An example of that is the Anjal Z, Abu Dhabi’s Edtech accelerator runs a program to specifically help EdTech startups. It provides selected startups with eight weeks of intense training and mentorship. The top-performing startup receives a chance to qualify for $100,000 in non-equity grant money, in-kind services, and follow-on investments.

Over the years we’ve seen UAE focus on new technology and the future. This can also be seen in the education sector too. Several schools are well prepared for the digitisation of education, almost as if they’ve been waiting for this change. The government, students, and schools are equipped to make this shift which is a huge advantage of starting an EdTech startup in UAE.

Thereby, making the market a great place for EdTech startups in UAE to flourish.

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1. 3asafeer

3asafeer is an edutainment company. This Edtech startup in UAE offers a digital library of stories, interactive video lessons, exercises, worksheets and fun educational games for children. It was founded in 2014 by Amr Abu-Hmeidan.

Their learning materials are categorized according to difficulty levels and the child’s age. They also focus on learning material that will increase the emotional intelligence along with IQ among learners. The company generates an annual turnover of 1.6 Million AED. 3asafeer was featured in Forbes Middle East top 50 startups to watch list and won the Seed Stars World Award in 2016, And the NLG EdTech Grant Award for STEM Content in 2018.

“It started with my pain, as a father, in trying to find interesting Arabic content for my kids to read—and instead of finding content that was too direct, and in many ways, condescending in the way it talked down to kids. I then decided to do something about it. I started by creating these digital stories as a favor to parents like me, but bit by bit, I started receiving feedback from teachers who were using them in the classroom and liking them.” said Amr Abu-Hmeidan

Founder: Amr Abu-Hmeidan
Investors: Unfunded
Location: Dubai, UAE

2. Abjadiyat

Abjadiyat is an Edtech startup in UAE that has built a platform for kids to learn the Arabic language. They do this in a fun and interactive manner. They are a product of Ibdaa Kids, an Edu Tech company founded and based in Abu Dhabi.

The platform is carefully developed with leading linguists, early childhood experts, world-class engineers, and designers to deliver a comprehensive Arabic teaching and learning ecosystem for in-school and at-home instruction and practice. They have partnered with numerous schools in Dubai, with the vision to transform the way kids learn. They have an annual turnover of $ 6 million.

Founder: Sandra Azrai
Investors: AdamTech
Location: Dubai, UAE
Revenue: $6 Million

3. Almentor.net

Almentor.net is an e-learning platform for professionals. This Edtech startup in UAE proudly calls itself the go-to hub for online lear model and offer some free videos. Their videos range from motivational lectures to courses on entrepreneurship, soft skills, parental and relationship management, and more.

They have videos in two languages namely – Arabic and English. They even offer crash courses in various courses. Their mission is to empower individuals and to learn from experts in every field and leverage the power of knowledge. To date, they’ve raised $4.5 million and are on their second round of funding.

“The world is moving towards the digital learning era and the vision and goals of HBMSU fall in line with the global trend and the modern Arab learner’s way of thinking,” said Dr. Ihab Fikry.

Founder: Dr. Ihab Fikry
Investors: Sawari Ventures, Egypt Ventures, Endure Capital, Mohamed El Amin, and Sheraa Sharjah

4. Coded Minds

Coded minds serve to educate people right from kindergarten to adulthood. This company offers an education with a focus on skills that are needed in the 21st century. Their aim is to impart knowledge about modern technology using hands-on interactive learning. It was founded in 2017 by Omar Farooqui. This EdTech startup in UAE believes that education should be purpose-driven.

They do this through six different platforms namely Edgemakers, ISteam, Hope academy, teacher’s training 2.0, early learning child care, and tutor booth. The platform includes training for students, teachers, early child development, and a learning management platform.

Coded Minds also has projects, lessons, and sessions to clarify the student’s doubts. Today, the company educates students of about 45 nationalities in 6 different countries. They aim to have over 1 million students by the end of 2022. Currently, they’ve raised a funding of $27,22,422.00 from Alarabi investments.

“In this region, we focus on the different types of creative, high-tech products but we have not yet focused on how to impart that technical education to our students to make those products,” said Omar Farooqui

Founder: Omar Farooqui
Investors: Alarabi Investments.
Location: Dubai, UAE

5. Creative Technology Solutions – CTS

CTS is a company offering IT solutions for education in the middle east. They offer solutions for schools and colleges to set up new technologies for their classrooms. This Edtech Startups in UAE has helped over 70 schools to date in setting up their learning systems. Moreover, they have also experimented with the ‘flipped classroom model’ which allows one on one interactions.

The company was founded in 2013 in Dubai. They’ve also designed educational software, tablets, and platforms for interactive and gamified learning. CTS has partnered with the top technology players like Intel, Microsoft, and Google. The company has received funding from Symphony Asia.

“We firmly believe our children need to learn using various tools that are different from those that our teachers used with the past generations and using technology to engage them will have a profound impact on their academic achievements.”

 

Founder: Basem Chbaklo, Haissam Issa
Investors: Symphony Asia
Location: Dubai, UAE
Contact Number: +971 4 4312739
Email: info@cts.ae

6. DeepKnowledge

Deepknowledge is an E-library platform service that provides high-end library management solutions. This includes tailor-made access to content and resources. Their mission is to help researchers and information seekers with facts and insights. It’s a cloud-based solution that helps corporations launch their e-libraries.

It was founded in 2018 in Dubai by TechKnowledge and is currently privately held. It covers subjects and databases like medical, academic, engineering and scientific journals and reviews. Owing to its unique features Deep knowledge has become a dependable choice for IT specialists, Faculty deans, department heard, and library admins.

Held by: TechKnowledge
Location: Dubai, UAE

7. Edarabia

Edarabia is the number 1 educational guide in the middle east. It was founded in 2005 and since then has become a trusted source of information for parents and students. This Edtech startup in UAE provides listings of top schools, colleges and job listings along with up-to-date news about the industries. It is a go-to platform for information about education in the UAE. They also provide information to do courses, tutors and diplomas in a very large variety of subjects.

Edarbia was formerly known as IQEA.org. One of their popular features is the comparison list between colleges which allows students to compare different colleges to find the best fit for themselves. Their revenue is around $17.80 Million according to rocketreach.co and they currently have more than 70,000 subscribers.

“Foremost, our children will need to be competitive on a global level. We should be asking ourselves “As educators, what can we do to prepare the next generation, so they can be ready to take on the world?” said Farid Gasim.

 

Founder: Farid Gasim
Location: Dubai, UAE

8. EdNex

EdNex is a platform that provides solutions for experimental training and learning. They provide AI-powered upskilling options for corporates. Learning and training solutions for K-12, Higher education, and vocational and industrial organizations.

EdNex is built with the aim to help institutions (corporate and educational) to stay up to date and not play ‘catch up’. Founded in 2018, Ednex is currently privately held.

“I believe that innovation is very essential in each and every field today,” said Senthil Kugan

 

Founder: Senthil Kugan
Location: Dubai, UAE
Contact Number: tel:+971 4 3180283
Email: info@ednex.me

9. Englease

Englease is an online platform that provides English speaking classes for all of the Middle East and North African region. Primarily, their aim is to provide affordable education across demographics. They offer training with native Arab and English speakers to help their clients achieve the perfect pronunciations.

They also offer flexible live classes along with training for exams like IELTS and TOEFL. Students can also undertake several proficiency tests to improve and learn. They are certified as an accredited CPD Training Provider.

Founder: Omar Chihane
Investors: Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund
Location: Dubai, UAE
Email: support@englease.com

10. eTutorHome

eTutorHome provides virtual tuitions for students. In addition to coaching for boards like IB, IGCSE, CBSE, ICSE examinations, they also have courses for SATs and IELTS.

This platform was founded in 2012 by Sammyo Halder. Only certified tutors are hired for this platform to coach students across a range of subjects. Additionally, they have 1-on-1 interactive sessions and chatbot based doubt clarification facilities for students. Globally, eTutorHome is one of the 15 organizations selected by Harvard Business School as pioneers in innovation. The company has an annual revenue turnover of about USD 49.6K.

“After very busy weekdays as a banker, my weekends would be completely taken up by running around for my sons’ private tuitions. That was when this idea of starting an e-learning service came up” said Sammyo Halder

Founder: Sammyo Halder
Investors: Amalthea Capital
Location: Dubai, UAE
Contact Number: +971 563381794

11. Gleac

Gleac is a powerful educational app that allows you to develop the skills required in the 21st century. In the age of automation, Gleac aims to develop and nurture human skills and leverage those for innovation. Gleac was founded in 2018 by Sallyann Della Casa.

The team at Gleac consists of a small set of highly skilled professionals across various fields. Gleac is one of the Edtech startups in UAE that has developed an app that is backed by a lot of neuroscience, algorithms, and technology. Furthermore, it is launched in several UAE schools and Universities across Dubai. They have a quarterly turnover of about $ 200K.

“There are 10 umbrella skills we talk about that are critical to the future of work, such as creative thinking, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, judgment and decision-making, emotional IQ, mindfulness—these types of skills. We all have different names for these same skills—like SEL (social and emotional learning), soft skills, 21st-century skills, etc.—but they all fall under our main clusters of skills which map to over 200 behaviors relevant in the workplace.” said Della Casa.

Founder: Sallyann Della Casa
Location: Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

12. HBMSU

Hamdan University( HBMSU) is a university offering virtual degrees. Ranging from business, quality management, education, healthcare and environment, the university offers varied programs. This EdTech company was founded in 2002 Under the presidency of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai.

HBMSU’s mission is to provide learner-centric and smart education to the students in the 21st century. An increasing number of students are opting for digital education in recent years. HBMSU’s flagship virtual learning environment, Smart Campus won the 2015 Wharton-QS Stars Reimagine Education Award.

“The problem with universities now is that educators are sitting in ivory towers and they think that they have that privilege because they are educating societies. But over time, these people who thought they were elites separated themselves from societies,” said Dr. Mansoor Al Awar

Founder: H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,
Chancellor: Dr. Mansoor Al Awar
Investors: Self-funded

13. Kalebr

Kalebr is an Edtech Startups in UAE that focuses on concept-based learning to help prepare young students for skills that they’ll require in the 21st century. Their values and focus are on happiness, sustainability, making, coding and innovation for young learners. They do this through gamification of learning and videos. It was built with the aim to develop a system of learning that inspires the joy of learning in students and in teachers.

Founded in 2013, this UAE based Edtech, helps teachers by automating processes and freeing up their valuable time. They make software that helps the educational industry move forward through research-based and evidence-based teaching. Kalebr is currently privately held.

“Through the use of digital platforms, teachers can connect with students and incorporate social media into their lessons, making them more interesting, relatable and engaging.”

Founder: Aaditya Tangri
Location: Dubai, UAE

14. Lamsa

Lamsa is an online education platform for children. It aims at making education entertaining for children. They were the first ones to launch AR-enabled books for children in MENA. The content pieces on Lamsa are developed through their intensive learning strategy which entertains the child and the teacher. Their courses range from maths, science to health and nutrition. Lamasa uses games, stories and videos to educate children.

This Edu tech company in UAE currently has 14 million downloads, has ranked #8 as a top MENA startup in 2018, has ranked #1 for applications for children on google play store and apple app store and more. They have also reached 1 billion minutes on their app and have raised $500K in funding over 4 rounds, it is safe to say Lamasa is heading in the right direction.

“We don’t view each one minute out of a billion as a mere sixty seconds, we treasure each increment as a precious moment,” said Badr Ward.

Founder: Badr Ward
Investors:  Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF), Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), GINCO Investments, Hala Ventures and Khobar, Ash Sharqiyah, Saudi Arabia
Location: Dubai, UAE

15. MyWonderBooks

My Wonder Books is a platform based in Dubai that provides free audiobooks for children. What truly sets them apart is that they have stories in six different languages and have words synced to the audio. The translations for the stories are done by humans and not robots. This Edtech startup’s aim is to make reading more fun and entertaining. They offer native voiceovers and also have a short quiz at the end of every story.

They are the first platform to give the administrators, schools, Book Publishers or governments the complete statistics of the readers. This can help them understand the success of the reading activity.

Founder: Amr Ibrahim

16. NahlawaNahil

NahlawaNahil is an online platform for students to learn Arabic. They aim to improve the knowledge, cognitive skills, and memory of students using a gamified approach. As of today, they are the leading choice for students of grade K-6 for learning Arabic. The company was founded in 2016 by Mohamed Al Bagdadhi. They currently have 1,000 leveled Arabic books from some of the leading educational publishers in the Middle East.

This Edtech startup in UAE offers a library of over 1000 Arabic books which are classified according to difficulty levels. Additionally, they also have supplementary video learning materials. The platform has been awarded the 2019 Gess Education Award. The platform is currently bootstrapped.

“We are very excited by ‘Nahla wa Nahil.’ With the launch of this platform, we are finally providing the world with an authoritative, interactive, and engaging platform that gives both native and non-native Arabic readers access to thousands of online Arabic books and educational content resources.” said Mohamed Al Bagdadhi

Founder: Mohamed Al Bagdadhi
Investors: Unfunded
Location: Dubai, UAE

17. Potential

Potential is one of the top Edtech Startups in UAE. They are an online learning platform build to make learning more fun. They help with performance, Social Impact, and Staff Development through practical business education.

They have a variety of programs for corporations and individuals. For corporations, their programs range from women empowerment to youth development. For individuals, they help you get ahead in your career or learn how to scale your business. Potential has already empowered hundreds of thousands of individuals and companies from over 31 different countries.

“We believe that everyone should have an opportunity to do what they love and become economically empowered while they do it” said Shadi Banna.

Founder:  Shadi Banna
Investors: Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP)
Location: Dubai, UAE
Email: info@potential.com

18. QiDZ

QiDZ is a mobile platform that enables parents to share fun activities for kids after school.QiDZ was founded by a group of working moms in 2017, as a way to find fun ideas for kid-friendly activities.

QiDZ is a platform meant to inspire busy parents to spend more time with their kids. The mobile app allows you to find cool kid-friendly restaurants and spots that you can visit in Dubai. QiDZ is one of the Edtech startups in UAE that allows you to plan and schedule your outings, and know the latest deals. QiDZ is updated daily with the latest DIY activities, games, online resources and more. The company has managed to raise a total of 1.5 million dollars from its 8 investors in its seed funding round.

“QiDZ has established real value for kids entertainment in the UAE. I am excited to see the growth and what the team has achieved, and to be part of the journey. The time has never been better to expand into other markets and, in particular, into Saudi Arabia.” said Khalid AlHadlaq, an investor and an advisory board member.

Founder: Claudia Ribas, Ines Mena, Nourhan Hassan, Simona Agolini
Investors: Vision Ventures and Seedstar and 6 others.
Location: Dubai, UAE

19. ReportCard- Education Analytics

ReportCard is a company offering student performance feedback solutions to educational institutions. It was founded in 2017 in Dubai, to address some drawbacks in the existing career counseling system.

The co-founders of ReportCard realized that the current career counseling system is not sufficient for an all-round analysis of the child. Therefore, they designed this software to provide a holistic analysis of students. The entire system is backed by data and facts. Some of their features include personalized feedback for students, historical marks comparison, and real-time notifications. They have received seed funding for an undisclosed amount from Arzan Venture Capital.

Founder: Anuj Chhabria, Nitin Nandwani, Suraj Talreja
Investors: Arzan Venture Capital
Location: Dubai, UAE

20. SchoolVoice

School Voice is an application that aims to bridge the gap between schools and busy parents. It’s one of the Edtech startups in UAE that allows parents to monitor their ward’s school meetings and teacher interactions through the app. The company was established in 2012 by Ali Bin Yahia.

The development team at school voice takes continuous feedback regarding their user experience. As a result, they have one of the most efficient dashboards to facilitate parent-teacher communication. They currently operate in UAE, but are planning to expand to a global level. The company has received 1.5 million dollars in seed funding.

“Schools are using impractical communication tools to connect with parents, but technological innovation is increasing the need to update strategies to match rapid changes our society is experiencing,” said Ali Bin Yahia

Founder: Ali Bin Yahia
Investors: Bin Mejren Investment Group
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE

21. Sindyan Educational Media

Sindyan Educational Media is an edutainment company for children aged 4-9 years. It was founded by Siba Al Shouli.

The main highlight of this EdTech startup in UAE is ‘STEM Buddies’, which is an animated short series about various educational topics. Each episode addresses a STEM related topic like the water cycle, flying, coding, and many more. They have apps on both Android and Apple stores. These apps contain quizzes, mini-games, and puzzles based on STEM subjects. Their app is available in both Arabic and English. They were among the top 8 startups selected by xEdu for investment.

Founder: Siba Al Shouli
Investors: xEdu
Location: Dubai, UAE

22. Training Calendar

The Training Calendar is a skill development platform for anybody looking to improve their professional skill set. The platform uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to enhance its capabilities. This helps individuals develop their skills and in turn, recruitment professionals get access to a global pool of talented individuals with enhanced skill sets. It was founded in 2015 by Peer Mohaideen Sait.

From corporate professionals to graduate students, the training calendar has a wide audience base. Courses offered include accounting, finance, engineering, IT, business management, marketing, project management, data science, and more. It allows users to search for courses based on location, price, category, etc. They have raised USD $2 million in funds from Venturepreneur Hub till now.

“Data is data. How you choose to see that data and use it still requires human choice. It is about how you innovate with it. Human interaction still remains where AI is concerned. But what it does is it gives you an alternative option,” said Peer Mohaideen Sait

 

Founder: Peer Mohaideen Sait
Investors: Venturepreneur Hub
Location: Dubai, UAE

23. UrbanCircle

UrbanCircle is a one-stop platform for everything related to parenting. They offer services from tutoring to childcare to after school activities. They work as a marketplace for various other brands that they verify and then bring onto their platform. They say that they only work with sellers that they would trust their children with. This shows trust and provides a safety net for parents. Furthermore, sellers are only allowed to be on the platform if they’ve been recommended by a parent.

This Edtech startup in UAE was started by two corporate mothers who wanted to make parenting easier. Their tutoring features teach along with in-depth information about each one. They even cater to children with special needs.

“ We want to raise awareness of children with learning needs and UrbanCircle lists everything from occupational therapists to speech and language therapy to a special needs educator and more. In a city with a lot of choices we really wanted to develop a one-stop-shop that parents can trust,” said Banu cetin Akca

Founder: Banu Cetin Akca and Zeynep Guney
Location: Dubai, UAE

24. Ustad Mobile

Ustad is an open-source mobile learning app. It helps teachers make learning interactive by using quizzes, texts, images, audio and video. The content on the platform is available both online and offline and has the option of peer-to-peer sharing. Ustad mobile was founded in 2014 by Benita Rowe, Mike Dawson, and Varuna Singh. The application helps marginalized, displaced, and disadvantaged people in society to learn educational content that can be shared over Bluetooth technology.

It even has features that allow you to track usage of time, learner’s progress and attendance. Ustad Mobile is supported by Dubai Expo 2020. Ustad Mobile features some openly licensed content from the Internet’s leading Open Educational Resources. Currently, the company has received $100,000 from Expo live Innovation Grant Programme and $30K as pre-seed capital from Turn8 accelerator.

“We produce customized versions of the app for specific projects and organizations,” said Benita Rowe.

Founder: Benita Rowe, Mike Dawson, and Varuna Singh
Investor: Turn8 accelerator.
Location: Dubai, UAE

25. WinjiGo

Owned by ITWORX Education, WinjiGo is an educational platform that supports both the students and the teachers. Started in 2014, they believe that embedding technology in education can help them improve the quality of learning by helping educators develop dynamic syllabuses that helps students acquire skills needed in the 21st century.

Their E-learning system simplifies content creation and management, non-traditional learning models and simplifies course planning and followups. One of their unique features is that they show every student’s individual learning path and their focus on students with special needs. Currently, ITWORX Education is privately held.

“We’re uniquely positioned to be able to dream big and to execute on those dreams; very few people in our part of the world can make both claims. We can do it and we have what it takes” said Youssri Helmy

Founder – Youssri Helmy
Location – Dubai, UAE

Conclusion

These are the top EdTech tech Startups in UAE. As the world changes, these companies are working to help students and corporations keep up with it. Furthermore, EdTech is an industry that has seen a rise in demands during the 2020 pandemic. With various niches and unique pain points this industry Edtech startups have found unique ways to differentiate themselves from the rest. As the industry grows it is interesting to see what the future might hold for us. Each one of these Edtech startups in UAE is working to make learning easier and more fun.

Which one is your favourite Edu Tech company? Comment below and let us know!