The MENA EdTech 50 is HolonIQ's annual list of the most promising EdTech startups from Middle East & North Africa.
The MENA EdTech 50 is focused on identifying young, fast growing and innovative learning, teaching and up-skilling startups across the Middle East and North Africa. Powered by data and insights from our Impact Intelligence Platform together with qualitative assessments by HolonIQ’s Intelligence Unit, and local market experts in each region, organizations are evaluated and scored based on our eligibility and assessment criteria.
Exhibit 1
Download the Market Map. Companies are categorized by their main area of focus following the globallearninglandscape.org. Categories in the market map are not mutually exclusive.
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Customers can deep dive the open-source list on the platform. Request a demo to learn more.
HolonIQ’s 2022 MENA EdTech 50 is aligned to the Global Learning Landscape, an Open-Source Taxonomy that maps the education and talent market.
Exhibit 2
Digital Content to support reading and literacy are strong with STEM and Coding offering solutions to kids and adults alike.
Digital content represents 14% of this year’s list with startups supporting reading and literacy (Akhdar, Lamsa, Quizzito, Wajeez) and support for teacher capacity building (Aanaab). STEAM is also a strong category with kids coding, adult bootcamps, virtual science labs, and maths learning, with solutions across K12 (iSchool, Wade7) Higher Education (PraxiLabs) and Workforce (GoMyCode, Sprints). Language Learning is also strong, represented by OTO, MagniLEARN, Nahlawanahil and Englease.
Exhibit 3
Direct-to-Consumer, representing two-thirds of this year’s cohort, remains steady.
The majority of this year's list operate a direct-to-consumer model, with many startups seeking to support workforce upskilling and skills assessment (Canditech, Zedny), AI supported training (Training Calendar) and mentoring solutions (Gleac). In K12 and Higher Education, Tutoring and Test Prep dominate D2C, with teams such as Noon Academy, Baims and Abwaab. Startups working B2B offer institutions, schools and companies infrastructure and environments for learning, such as school management software provider Colnn, Learning Experience platform, Lumofy and school communication platform, SchoolVoice.
Exhibit 4
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This year’s MENA list is a balance of age profiles with a strong group of growth stage companies. 30% of companies on the list were founded less than 3 years ago.
This year's list shows a fairly even spread of early stage and more mature companies, with 30% of the list 3 years or under, the majority of which operate direct to consumer models, half in the workforce sector, illustrating the challenges of selling into schools, universities and corporates during COVID. Just over one third of startups on the list are 7 to 10 years old and 36% are in the growth phase of 4-6 years old with startups such as tutoring and test prep provider, Orcas and testing solution, Tqweem.
Exhibit 5
Not surprisingly, the larger markets of Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia dominate the list, with smaller markets such as Jordan and Tunisia also showcasing their emerging ecosystems.
Exhibit 6
Track the 2022 Cohort
HolonIQ customers can track the data for the most promising EdTech startups in MENA on the Market Intelligence Platform. Look for the 2022 HolonIQ Middle East & North Africa EdTech 50 list in the Lists tab of the Organizations page. Request a Demo if you are not a customer and would like to learn more. Track the 2022 Cohort.
Deep Dive the List
Customers can deep dive the open-source list on the platform. Request a demo to learn more.
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