Local edtech startup Business for Teens has closed a six-figure pre-seed round led by training and sales expert Salah Abu El Magd, with participation from a group of angel investors, according to a press release (pdf). Founded in 2024 by Nadeem Barakat (LinkedIn), the platform teaches entrepreneurship and financial literacy to 10-16-year-olds through startup simulations and project-based learning.

Why it matters: The teen demographic is a sweet spot for edtech right now. Unlike early childhood education (which is crowded), the K-12 and higher ed markets (which are tightly regulated), the 10-16 age bracket outside of formal school settings is a critical gap where parents are willing to pay for soft skills like money management, leadership, and sales.

“We are selling an investment, not charity,” Barakat tells us, distinguishing the company from non-profit initiatives. “Paid models drive higher commitment, and unlike free programs, our profit-driven model allows us to hire top talent and scale sustainably,” he added.

The strategy: Scaling requires a pivot from service delivery to a “hybrid licensing model.” While the company currently uses its own trainers to build brand equity, the long-term play is “train-the-trainer” licensing, said Barakat. He also wants to lean heavily into tech, saying, “Eighty percent of guidance will be automated via our platform — using AI tools for business plan reviews — allowing us to reserve high-touch mentoring for the top-tier 20% of projects.”

The Saudi play: The edtech has already partnered up with 10 schools across Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but plans to push deeper into the Saudi market.

The big picture: The ultimate goal is vertical integration, with Barakat saying he’s building a “production line” for the private sector. “Business for Teens is the factory that produces the talent,” he says. The roadmap includes a dedicated incubator for the top 5-7% of graduates who launch revenue-generating startups, alongside a recruitment arm to place talent at major corporations.

What’s next: The company is eyeing aggressive growth, targeting 30 school partnerships and 6k students by the end of the year, with three new program levels slated to launch in 1Q 2026.

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