For Saudi Arabia’s booming edtech sector, propped up by ambitious national transition policies, Egyptian startups have found a welcoming new nest. A fresh wave of Egyptian ventures is touching down in Riyadh, drawn by a massive market and a government mandate for digital transformation.
In recent months, a clear trend has emerged: established Egyptian edtech companies, having honed their products in Africa’s largest market, are making a strategic leap into the Gulf’s economic powerhouse. Ventures like Farid Academy, iSchool, and Career 180 are leading the charge, setting up operations and securing major partnerships in Saudi Arabia.
They are being pulled in by the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, a multi-trillion-dollar plan to diversify the economy away from oil, with education and human capital development at its core. For Egyptian founders, it’s a perfect match: a mature product ready to scale meets a well-funded market eager to adopt it.
The Latest Arrivals
The latest to announce its move is Farid Academy, a platform providing live, one-on-one sessions on mental health and character development for children aged 3–18. The company has established a main operating office in Riyadh as it prepares to raise a seed round in the final quarter of 2025, following a $250k pre-seed round last year.
As part of its expansion, Farid has already inked a significant three-year, SAR 4.5m ($1.2m) strategic partnership with the Amad Association for Human Capacity Development. The deal aims to train 500 Saudi university graduates as certified trainers and enrol over 4,000 children in its programmes, directly aligning with Vision 2030’s focus on human capital.
“We chose Saudi Arabia as the second stop in our strategic plan because of its fertile environment for investing in human capital,” said Mahmoud Hussein Al-Naqeeb, co-founder and CEO of Farid.
Just weeks earlier, iSchool, a prominent Egyptian platform for teaching AI and coding to K-12 students, also announced its official expansion into the Kingdom. Having already trained 10,000 Saudi students online, iSchool is now shifting to a B2B and B2G model, working directly with schools, corporations, and government ministries.
The timing is critical. Saudi Arabia recently announced it will make Artificial Intelligence a core subject in schools, a move that puts it ahead of many global peers. iSchool is positioning itself as a key partner to implement this nationwide agenda.
“Saudi Arabia’s vision for AI education is historic,” said Muhammad Gawish, co-founder and CEO of iSchool. “We are contributing to a national movement that will redefine how children learn, create, and lead in the AI-driven world.”
This migration isn’t limited to K-12 education. Career 180, a Cairo-based career development platform, secured a six-figure investment from Den VC earlier this year to fuel its expansion into Saudi Arabia. The startup, which focuses on aligning youth skills with labour market demands through workshops and practical training, will use the funds to localise its content into Arabic and scale its learning management system. This directly addresses the region’s persistent youth unemployment challenges and the growing demand for upskilling.
The Saudi Pull Factors
The attraction for these startups goes far beyond simple market size. It’s a combination of strategic government action, favourable demographics, and a clear demand for proven educational solutions.
A Government-Driven Market: Vision 2030 is the single biggest driver. The Saudi government isn’t just a regulator; it’s an active investor and the largest customer. Initiatives like the national AI curriculum, a SAR 2bn investment in digital literacy programmes, and the widespread adoption of the Madrasati learning platform during the pandemic have created a robust ecosystem for edtech.
A Young, Digital-Native Population: Over 50% of the Saudi population is under 25. This generation grew up with smartphones and high-speed internet, making them ideal adopters of digital learning tools. With smartphone penetration exceeding 95%, the conditions are perfect for mobile-first learning applications and interactive platforms.
Demand for Specialised Skills: The economic diversification agenda requires a workforce skilled in STEM, AI, data science, and cybersecurity. This has fuelled demand for specialised edtech solutions like those offered by iSchool, moving beyond generic K-12 content to skills directly linked to future careers.
Why Egyptian Startups are Poised to Win
While the Saudi market is attracting global attention, Egyptian startups have a distinct competitive advantage.
First, they are mature and battle-tested. Companies like iSchool have already empowered over 131,000 students across 20 countries. They arrive in Saudi Arabia not with a minimum viable product, but with a proven, scalable model.
Second, the shared language and cultural context significantly lower the barrier to entry. This allows for faster market penetration and easier content localisation compared to competitors from Europe or Asia.
Again, the “Egypt-to-GCC” expansion has become a well-established playbook for scaling. It provides access to deeper capital markets and serves as a launchpad for becoming a regional, rather than just a national, leader. For Egyptian edtech, Saudi Arabia is not just a new market — it’s the next logical step toward regional dominance.