Coded raises $1.3 million Pre-Series A to help Arabs learn to code
Along with being the first coding academy in the Middle East, Coded is also the startup that brought the first coding bootcamps to the Arab region.
It has now raised $1.3 million in Pre-Series A, as reported by MAGNiTT, to expand their bootcamp offering and bring it to more Arabs in the region. This could go a long way in helping more Arabs learn the skill that is being increasingly valued by employers in the region.
The funding round was reportedly led by KISP Ventures, who was joined by 500 Startups, Sharq Capital, Sijam Ventures, Sirdab Lab and Abdullah Al-Zabin.
Coded was founded in 2015 by Ahmad Marafi and Hashim Behbehani. In an interview with Switchup, Hashim explained that they were planning to initially launch an e-commerce platform. However, after working on it for three years, the idea did not take off because they lacked the "programming proficiency to actually build the product with our own hands" and also found it challenging to recruit local talent who were expert in the field. Hence, they wanted to bring that skill to more Arab youth, so more ideas would get realised in the region.
“There is a key gap in the MENA and global markets of coding and developer talent. This gap is severe even in developed markets like Silicon Valley, hence any program that would serve to fill this gap have a huge market opportunity. The combination of Coded’s offline boot camps and online courses is a powerful formula for developing strong technical talent in the Arab world, solidifying its rapidly developed leadership position.Hasan Haider, Managing Partner, 500 Startups MENA
As of now, Coded has run over 24 completed bootcamps, which typically run over 8 weeks with students completing seven different projects before graduation. Their courses offer multiple programming languages such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Python, Django, and AngularJS. They have now seen more than 250 graduate students.
With a low student to instructor ratio of 5 to 1, participants get personalised attention and constant support throughout their time at the startup’s coding bootcamps. This has made CODED quite popular with the audience.
CODED also offer a 14-week part time evening bootcamp teaching the same coding languages previously taught in their full-time course. You can check out its courses and timings here.
CODED is a partner of 1 Million Arab Coders Program, an initiative that started in 2017, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
Coded has experienced double-digit monthly revenue growth and we are quite impressed with what Ahmad, Hashim and the Coded team have accomplished to date. With their plans to further develop the educational platform to place graduates into different jobs in various fields of coding technology, we see a great future for the company. We are thrilled to collaborate with and support them as they scale to the global market.”Hasan Haider, Managing Partner, 500 Startups MENA
With the backing of 500 Startups and other prominent investors, we hope to see Coded lead the next generation of Arab coders, and strengthen the region's tech industry.
