SBX Capital and renowned interior designer and entrepreneur Farah AlHumaidhi, have announced their acquisition of 40% of Dawrat, a Kuwait-based edtech marketplace for Arabic-taught online courses, at an undisclosed valuation.

Mohammad Al Suraye and Yousef Bonashi co-founded the edtech startup in 2011. Dawrat is establishing itself as the leading platform for high-quality, Arabic-taught workshops and courses. What started as a listings website for traditional educational courses in Kuwait has grown to become a key player in the region’s edtech space, with over 10,000 listed courses catering to more than 100,000 users from across the MENA.

While the company has experienced steady growth since its inception, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an exponential rate of adoption for Dawrat as people became more dependent on and accustomed to online learning. The company seized the opportunity to launch its online ‘live’ courses, complimenting its pre-recorded courses and workshops that dominate the platform. The pandemic cemented the importance of edtech amid lockdowns and school closures. Dawrat saw growth rates surpassed 600% during the pandemic.

With the support of its new investors, Dawrat plans to expand its course offerings, introduce new features,
and grow its market share more aggressively across the region in the coming year. Farah AlHumaidhi, who’s becoming increasingly involved in the regional tech space, will also act as Chairwoman as part of the deal. An entrepreneur, investor, and Dawrat instructor herself, AlHumaidhi comes with over a decade of experience in the education space as well as unique regional media influence.

WAYA asked Farah AlHumaidhi what sparked her interest in tech investment. She replied, “Throughout my career, I have had hands-on experience in creating online content in my expertise, interior design, through many channels and have seen the potential of that for the future. Being an instructor myself on Dawrat gave me inside information on the potential and possibilities of digital online education, where I saw a huge opportunity and a gap that needed to be filled. Education will change drastically in the future, this we all know. However, the pandemic accelerated this change and what we expected to take 10 or more years to happen or even start has certainly started to shape up and manifest as we speak.”

“Over the course of my career, I have experienced first hand the power of sharing knowledge, and more so its magnified effect when done over the internet, at scale, on platforms such as Dawrat. Today I am excited to help facilitate education beyond my profession of interior design, to include technology, business, history, and a variety of other sciences and arts offered on Dawrat,” commented Farah AlHumaidhi.

“Dawrat is well-positioned to become an enabler for the 400M+ Arabic-speaking population of the MENA region, opening doors and opportunities for Arab youth foraying into the ever-changing landscape of the future,” said Saoud AlHumaidhi, adding that the shift online is only the beginning of the disruption the education industry will see in the coming decade. AlHumaidhi’s backing of Dawrat feeds directly into SBX Capital’s strategy of investing in technology companies that are disrupting highly antiquated legacy industries.