Abwaab, an Amman-headquartered EdTech platform that allows students to learn through a series of short, concept-based lessons at their own pace, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding led by existing investors BECO Capital (UAE).
The round was also joined by 4DX Ventures (USA), GSV Ventures (USA), Watar Partners (KSA) and others.
According to the company, it has experienced strong growth during the pandemic-halted lockdown where children were unable to attend normal schooling.
Founded in September 2019 by former General Manager of Uber for the GCC and Levant, Hamdi Tabbaa, Sabri Hakim, and AI expert Hussein AlSarabi, Abwaab’s online platform enable secondary school students in the Middle East & North Africa to learn different subjects at their own pace with the help of engaging video lessons and interacting with tutors, test themselves using tests and quizzes, and track their performance using different tools.
Abwaab’s mission is to improve the out-of-school learning experiences for Arabic-speaking youth by making high-quality education accessible to each and every student regardless of socioeconomic background.
Talking about the platform, CEO and Co-founder of Abwaab, Hamdi Tabbaa, said, “Our mission since inception has been to make learning more accessible, affordable, and fun, by building a comprehensive ecosystem that changes the way students learn, while also equipping them with the tools needed to get ahead in life.”
The startup claims to have grown by 10x in the number of active users throughout the 2020/21 academic year.
Commenting on the investment, Venture partner of BECO Capital, Abdulaziz Shikh Al Sagha, said, “Abwaab is on a clear path to establishing themselves as market leaders within the region and we are proud to have had the chance to further deepen our partnership with Hamdi, Sabri, Hussein and the whole Abwaab team.”
COVID-19 has accelerated EdTech in different parts of the world and the Middle East is no different. Abwaab (and Mawdoo3) last year had helped the Jordanian government launch an online education platform to teach over 1 million school-going students in Jordan as the schools were closed due to the pandemic.
The company’s competitors are offline tutoring centres, Noon Academy (a Saudi based social learning platform, EdKasa (Pakistan based test prep app), Ashtar (Egypt based learning app).
In July, Abwaab acquired Pakistani EdTech platform Edmatrix to expand its operations in the fifth largest country of the world, it is the first acquisition by the Jordanian startup.
Earlier this year, the company had raised $5.1 million in a seed round led by 4DX Ventures, Beco Capital, EQ2 Ventures, Foundation Ventures, GSV Ventures, and Spartech Ventures.
