Future plans of Noon Academy in the Indian market
Noon Academy, Saudi-based leading education technology startup is all set to expand and to enter the Indian EdTech space with their social learning app. Through series A financing round, the academy has recently raised $8.6 million, which was co-led by venture capitalists (VCs) in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region like Raed Ventures and STV with institutional investors such as Alisamiah.
With IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation), estimating the net worth of India’s education market to grow to $5.7 billion by 2020, this might just be the right time for Noon Academy to invest in the EdTech industry and disrupt the education sector. The 6-year-old academy will use the funding to continue building its engineering and product teams, double down on growth in its existing markets, and launch into new markets including India.
Noon Academy’s app transforming the education sector
Currently, the app has over 2 million students and 1,500 certified tutors in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Through this app, students can study with their friends in groups, compete with each other and request tutors on demand. On average students spend over 60 minutes on the app per visit, vastly exceeding the EdTech industry average of 14 minutes per visit.
Mohammed Aldhalaan, Academy co-founder and Chief Executive, stated: “Our app is transforming into an open platform, where teachers the world over can start educational groups, allowing other tutors to cultivate their following and generate additional income through performance and positive reviews.”
Hunting for the right talent
Noon Academy is currently on a hunt to attract the right talent from across the globe to join the 90+ team members in Riyadh, Bengaluru, and Cairo in Egypt. M. Mohan, who worked at Amazon, Microsoft, Ola and Yahoo over the last 19 years and a veteran technology specialist in programme and product management, has recently joined the Academy as vice-president (engineering). Furthermore, Omar Almajdouie (founding partner of Raed Ventures), Hani Enaya (STV partner), and Abdullah Elyas (Co-founder of institutional investor Careem) will join Academy’s board of directors soon.
