From traditional curricula turned into interactive videos, to online tutorials for music apprentices and virtual communities for tech-geeks, the Arab world’s educational startups bloom with creativity. Barakabits has chosen the 5 hottest initiatives:
1) Nafham: One of the leading online learning tools in the region, Nafham (which means “let’s understand”) is a free K-12 online education platform that provides 5 to 15-minute video lessons covering Egyptian, Saudi, Algerian and Syrian curricula. Founded by Sawari Ventures chairman Ahmed El Alfi, the platform counts with over 60,000 subscribers on Youtube, and has now also launched its own mobile app.
2) Teeks for Geeks: This community of gurus aim to create the “YouTube of IT training,” in the Arab world, not only offering innovative practical courses that cover from operating systems up to web and mobile development, but also creating a community where wanna-be geeks can connect with “seasoned gurus”.
3) i3zif: A radically revolutionary platform, this Jordanian startup is formed by a group of music lovers who aim to make music and instrument playing accessible everywhere, their online music lessons cater to both local and global audiences.
4) Little Thinking Minds: Created by two TV producers who saw an opportunity in the lack of Arabic content for children, the startup produces educational Arabic content for children under 7 both in the form of DVDs and CDs, and digitally via videos, apps and online games to educate children them in their mother tongue.
5) Rubicon: Jordan’s leading online service, providing entertainment which is fun while stimulating for the mind, Rubicon was created to “reverse the effects of mindless media”, as its founders define it. The company seeks to set imagination alight, combining the experience that will make the audience, young and old, think while laughing.
Do you know other tech-ed startups? Tell us your favourite learning tool in the comments below!
