EdTech Startups That Are Closing the Skills Gap for Arab Youth

Over the past decade, a multitude of EdTech startups have sprung up across the Arab world, utilising technology to deliver education to the region’s burgeoning population. From coding boot camps to one-on-one personality development tutoring, here are eight EdTech startups closing the skills gap for young Arabs in the region...

Alef Education (UAE)

UAE‑based and AI‑powered, Alef Education is a learning solutions provider focused on K‑12 education and operating worldwide. Its flagship Alef Platform delivers personalised digital learning, adaptive assessments, and curriculum resources, and the company partners with governments and schools across the UAE, USA, Indonesia, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia, operating in some 7,000 schools since its founding in 2016. Publicly listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Alef serves over a million students and tens of thousands of educators.

almentor (UAE / MENA)

almentor is an e‑learning platform with a vision to inspire Arab self-learners to excel and reach their greatest potential. almentor offers video‑based courses and talks taught by experts in Arabic and English, as well as professional and personal training content on topics from business and tech to wellbeing, serving learners across the Middle East and North Africa through both individual and corporate training solutions. almentor was founded in 2016 by Ihab Fikry, Ibrahim Kamel, Abdelrhman Fahmy, Hesham Heikal, Husni Khuffash and is headquartered in Dubai.

Orcas (Egypt)

Orcas, an education platform connecting students with tutors for personalised learning, was founded in 2019 to meet the pressing need for quality one-on-one tutoring in Egypt. It offers students online and in‑person sessions across various subjects in four countries in the MENA region. With over 600 tutors, Orcas has held over 100,000 tutoring sessions since its founding. In 2024, Orcas was acquired by Kuwaiti EdTech Baims, enabling them to expand their reach and impact more students across the region.

Baims (Kuwait / MENA)

Baims is a Kuwait‑based e‑learning platform that provides pre‑recorded and live educational content targeting university and high‑school learners across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan. Founded in 2017 by Bader Al-Rasheed and Yousef Alhusaini, who were both university students at the time, Baims recently secured a $4 million Series A funding round in 2023. In 2024, they expanded their offerings by acquiring Orcas to blend structured course videos with personalised tutoring.

Coded (Kuwait)

Coded, a tech education academy in Kuwait, focuses on building digital and programming skills among youth and adults. Coded was the first coding academy in the Middle East when it was founded in 2015 by Ahmad Marafi and Hashim Behbehani, who sought to cultivate the next generation of coders locally and regionally. Coded Academy offers hands‑on boot camps for professionals covering web development, AI, and cybersecurity, as well as many programmes for students and kids looking to learn about coding.

englease (UAE)

Based in Dubai, englease is an English language learning platform operating throughout MENA that uses interactive lessons and assessment tools to help learners improve their English skills. englease’s live lessons are taught by a team of expert full-time teachers, and tailored to local needs by focusing on engaging content and adaptive learning practices. Since its founding in 2019, englease has delivered over 86,000 classes to over 350,000 individuals and leading global corporations, and is backed by major investors like LearnCapital, 500Global, and Wamda.

Farid (Egypt/Saudi Arabia)

Founded in 2024 by entrepreneur Mahmoud Hussein, Farid Academy is the first of its kind in the MENA region to offer live one-on-one sessions focused on mental health and personality development for Arab children aged 3 to 18. In late 2025, Farid expanded to Saudi Arabia, opening a central operations office in Riyadh. Farid aims to certify 10,000 trainers and empower 10 million children and youth across the Arab world through specialised programmes in personality development and mental wellness by 2030.

Aanaab (Saudi Arabia)

Aanaab is a Saudi-based professional teacher development platform that helps educators upskill through courses and certification opportunities, including internationally recognised credentials like Cambridge International certificates. Launched in 2019, the online training platform aims not just to train teachers in the Arab world, but on enriching teaching practice and professional growth for educators in Saudi Arabia and the broader region. Since its founding, it has registered over 250,000 trainees on the platform.