Saudi education platform raises more funds as schools go online

Noon Academy, an education technology platform based in Saudi Arabia, raised $13m in its latest funding round as more students turn to online education amid school closures.

The pre-B funding was led by STV, the venture capital investor that backed Dubai ride-hailing firm Careem before its sale to Uber Technologies last year.

The initial target was to raise $5m, Noon Academy said in a statement. It had raised $8.6m in series-A funding.

Online education is booming as coronavirus-related lockdowns keep people at home, forcing schools and students to move online. Noon Academy said since the virus outbreak it added 3 million students to its platform, doubling its registered users.

“We’re aiming to bring together 50 million students and tutors from around the world by 2023,” chief executive officer Mohammed Aldhalaan said in the statement.

Noon Academy currently operates in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India and Pakistan, and plans to open a hub in London.

​Alturki Holding and Ahmed El Kalla’s NFX Ventures were part of the pre-B funding.

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