- Aanaab secures investment from Rethink Education, reflecting its impact in MENA’s education sector.
- The platform serves over 200,000 teachers and 250 schools across 10 countries, addressing a $4 billion market gap.
- CEO Mounira Jamjoom underscores the transformative role of teacher upskilling in student learning.
- Rethink Education’s investment highlights global recognition of Aanaab’s potential, setting a precedent for further investments in MENA’s edtech sector.
Saudi Arabia-based edtech company Aanaab has secured an investment from US-based venture capital firm Rethink Education.
While the investment’s value remains undisclosed, this move marks a significant milestone for Aanaab, reflecting its growing influence and impact in the education sector.
Mounira Jamjoom founded Aanaab in 2019. Aanaab is a digital training platform dedicated to advancing the professional development of K–12 teachers and educators.
The platform offers a variety of courses, licensing, and qualifications primarily in Arabic to help educators enhance their skills and knowledge. Aanaab is part of the Wamda portfolio.
It currently boasts a substantial user base, with over 200,000 teachers and around 250 schools enrolled on its platform. These users span across 10 countries in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, underscoring Aanaab’s wide-reaching impact.
Addressing the Need in MENA
The MENA region faces a persistent challenge in training and upskilling teachers and school leaders.
While many educational solutions in the region focus on students, curriculum, or resources, the professional development of teachers is often overlooked. Aanaab identified this gap and seized the opportunity to develop a comprehensive solution for teacher professional development.
The company targets a substantial market, estimated at $4 billion, by offering a range of courses, licensing, and qualifications to K-12 educators.
Empowering Educators Through Technology
Aanaab’s platform has enrolled over 200,000 teachers and approximately 250 schools across ten countries in the MENA region.
The courses, which are available both asynchronously and synchronously, are accredited and use a data-driven approach to track teachers’ progress through a user-friendly dashboard.
The content framework covers six key domains: subject knowledge, assessment, pedagogical skills, student support and wellbeing, technology in education, and leadership development.
Innovative Courses and Partnerships
Aanaab develops its own content and collaborates with international entities to offer cutting-edge professional development courses.
Recent additions include courses that teach coding and artificial intelligence techniques, helping educators integrate these skills into their teaching methods.
The platform also provides preparation courses for Saudi Arabia’s teacher licensing exams, ensuring teachers are well-equipped to meet national standards.
A Mission to Transform Education
Mounira Jamjoom, Aanaab’s CEO and co-founder, emphasizes the transformative impact of upskilling teachers. “Upskilling teachers is something we’re passionate about because it changes the lives of students around the world.
We can all remember a teacher who had a positive impact on our learning. Even in classrooms with limited resources, a good teacher can facilitate effective and impactful learning.”
Strategic Investment for Global Impact
Rethink Education, a New York-based impact venture capital firm focused on education, views its investment in Aanaab as a strategic move to leverage global impact.
Andre Bennin, Managing Partner of Rethink Education, mentioned that Rethink Education invested in Aanaab to leverage impact at a global scale.
According to Bennin, investing in teachers is the primary focus to unlock students’ full potential. He finds Aanaab’s work exciting because it addresses the most pressing education issue in the region.
Future Prospects and Continued Exploration
Rethink Education has been closely monitoring entrepreneurship and innovation in the MENA region.
Bennin notes that they will continue to explore opportunities for further investments in the region’s burgeoning edtech sector.
Aanaab’s success and the investment from Rethink Education highlight the potential for educational technology to address critical needs in teacher professional development and set a precedent for future international investments in the region.
Aanaab’s innovative approach to teacher training and professional development has positioned it as a leader in the MENA region’s edtech landscape.
The investment from Rethink Education not only validates Aanaab’s mission but also underscores the importance of investing in teachers to improve education outcomes.
As Aanaab continues to grow and expand its offerings, it stands as a testament to the transformative power of education technology in addressing global challenges.
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