Noon Academy raises $8.6 million
An online learning platform based in Riyadh, Noon Academy has raised $8.6 million Series A.
The round was co-led by Raed Ventures and Saudi Technology Ventures (STV) to become the largest ever funding round raised by an EdTech startup from the Middle East & North Africa region.
Other investors who joined the round include Saudi-based Alisamiah Investment, Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), as well as different individual investors, including Abdulla Elyas, co-founder of Careem, Dr. Abdulrahman Aljadhai, CEO of Elm, and Mazen Aljubair.
Raed Ventures’ Omar Almajdouie, STV’s Hani Enaya and Careem co-founder Abdulla Elyas will join Noon Academy’s Board of Directors.
“The biggest issue in studying isn’t comprehension; rather, it’s boredom, and that’s where Noon Academy’s unique social learning platform achieves what others can’t. Noon is transforming into an open platform, where teachers around the world can start their own educational groups, allowing exceptional teachers to organically cultivate their own following and generate additional income through excellent performance and positive reviews.”Mohammed Aldhalaan, Co-Founder and CEO of Noon Academy
Winner of the prestigious Real Innovation Award at the London Business School 2018, Noon Academy was founded in 2013 by Mohammed Aldhalaan and Dr. Abdulaziz AlSaeed.
What started out as a simple test prep platform, has now grown to become a social learning platform that enables students to study with their friends in groups, compete with one another, and request top tutors on demand.
According to their statement, students on average spend over 60 minutes on the app per visit, which is far more than the EdTech industry average of 14 minutes per visit. Noon has attracted over 2 million students and 1,500 certified tutors to date.
Offering both web and mobile-based platform, Noon offers students tutoring and free educational content on a subscription basis; however, all users have free access to basic content.
The platform also helps students pass the Saudi general aptitude test and the achievement test, and is accredited from the Saudi National Centre of Assessment (QIYAS).
According to EdTechXGlobal, the global market for EdTech will reach $252 billion by 2020. Considering there are approximately 6 million students in Saudi alone, with many more in the region, Noon Academy has a vast potential to grow within the region. From the statistics they shared, it seems the platform is already quite popular amongst students in the Kingdom.
