From left: Joan Manuel, Mohmmed El-Sonbaty and Abdelrahman Ayman. Image: Educatly
The funding round was led by TLcom Capital and Plus VC, with backing from Ireland’s HBAN syndicate.
Dublin-based Educatly has raised $2.5m to grow its AI edtech platform in the Middle East and Africa markets.
Founded in 2020 by Mohmmed El-Sonbaty, Joan Manuel and Dr Abdelrahman Ayman, Educatly has developed a platform that helps students decide what and where to study. Using AI and large language models, the start-up provides students with information on higher education institutions across the world, including programmes and scholarships.
Educatly, which currently operates in Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Ireland, claims that its platform features more than 1,100 universities across 90 countries.
“When we first launched Educatly, our aim was to bridge the gap between students’ educational needs and the available educational opportunities to align with their capabilities and ambitions,” said El-Sonbaty, who is CEO of the company.
“We are proud to receive this new investment, which reaffirms our commitment to continue working towards our vision and strategic goals through an ambitious plan aimed at increasing growth and expanding our operations in Africa and the Middle East.”
El-Sonbaty, who is based in Dublin and has previously worked for LinkedIn, said the latest investment will also enhance Educatly’s services and help them reach more students around the world.
The funding round was led by TLcom Capital and Plus VC. Egypt Venture and Ireland’s Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) syndicate also backed the round announced yesterday (29 February).
Ayman, who is the chief operating officer, said that Educatly has reached more than 3m students to date. The aim is to increase this number to approximately 7m by the end of the year.
“This fund highlights the potential of educational technology in the region,” Ayman said. “We provide a comprehensive digital map of educational institutions worldwide to assist users. We also offer financial support through diverse instalment systems in collaboration with our partners, helping students access the best educational programmes based on their needs.”
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