iSchool, an Egypt-based educational technology platform, has raised $4.5 million in a funding round led by VentureWave Capital, an Irish VC, with participation from OneStop Capital UK, Website Investment Network, and Oraseya Capital, the Venture Capital arm of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority. With this new financing, the company will accelerate its expansion into six additional MENA countries, enable technology scalability for the ‘Online Coding Platform,’ and prepare for the further development of its gamified online classroom app service throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
Founded in 2018 by Mohamed Algawish, Mustafa AbdelMon’em, Ebrahim Youssef and Mohamed Nabil, iSchool offers live gamified classes led by top coding instructors, catering to students aged 6 to 18. The curriculum spans AI, VR, app, game, and web development, fostering foundational concepts from early childhood. This unique approach and international accreditation have propelled the startup’s rapid growth.
iSchool’s journey began in 2018 as a solution for the 100 million students in the MENA region who need access to technology education curricula or programmes. After experiencing similar obstacles and challenges in their tech education journey, the iSchool founders set out to enhance students’ access to critical staples, and through operational excellence, the company has achieved more than 72% client retention month over month.
Speaking about the company’s growth and mission, Co-founder & CEO of iSchool, Muhammad Gawish, said:
We started by teaching tech for K12 students, and today we are giving the world access to thousands of top-notch coding instructors from their comfort at home with a click of a button. Our mission is to empower today’s generations to become tomorrow’s technology leaders, beginning in the Middle East and Africa and spreading to the rest of the world. Using dynamic technology and a deep understanding of the end-to-end live class process, we are growing a simple idea into a product that can improve the lives of millions of people.
Gawish added:
We are delighted to be joined by several vastly experienced and strategic investors, whose expertise will play a vital role ahead of our future expansion and our current activities, managing national-level initiatives in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The organization claims to have over 26,000 live learners, over 1,000,000 training hours delivered, and over 10,000,000 lines of code written by its students while working with 35 schools, providing technical training and CS labs, all of which led to managing national-level initiatives in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Reflecting on iSchool’s growth and potential, Kieran McLoughlin, VentureWave Capital’s Managing Partner, stated:
VentureWave Capital is thrilled to lead this funding round for iSchool and to back such an innovative company that is making a significant impact on education in the Middle East and Africa. This investment aligns perfectly with our mission to achieve social progress by supporting transformative entrepreneurs. We are delighted to participate in iSchool’s ambitious plans to bring its unique educational model to new markets and empower the next generation of technology leaders.
With these significant milestones, iSchool Holdings has established a foothold in Ireland, driving the company worldwide, and plans to expand a new team in Dublin.
