{"id":686928,"date":"2026-03-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/?post_type=blackboard&p=686928"},"modified":"2026-03-09T04:35:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T04:35:24","slug":"edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf","status":"publish","type":"blackboard","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/","title":{"rendered":"Edtech startups\u2019 strategy: Test in Egypt, scale in the Gulf"},"content":{"rendered":"

Egypt\u2019s <\/strong>edtech<\/strong> startups are no longer just expanding to the <\/strong>Gulf to<\/strong> escape currency issues \u2014 they are actually doing it to mature as a business. <\/strong>While the search for hard currency<\/a> is a practical factor, companies like Almentor and OBM Education are finding that the jump across the border is really a catalyst for their evolution.<\/p>\n

Maturing fast:<\/strong> Omar El Barbary, founder and CEO of student career advising startup OBM Education, experienced this firsthand. He shared that jumping into the Saudi market<\/a> played a massive role in \u201caccelerating our maturity as a regional company.\u201d The new environment forced them to build \u201cstronger governance, clearer delivery standards, and a more scalable commercial and operational framework.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earning trust: <\/strong>For the video-based learning platform Almentor, the shift was transformative but required a lot of hard work. The company\u2019s CEO Ihab Fikry explained that they were initially drawn in by the Gulf\u2019s digital maturity and high content consumption, but earning trust was the biggest challenge, because the region \u201crewards execution, consistency, and measurable impact,\u201d rather than flashy marketing. By deeply localizing their content and proving their worth, the move \u201celevated Almentor from a fast-growing startup into a regionally trusted learning infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Filling unmet needs: <\/strong>What makes the Gulf such a massive window for these startups is the glaring, unmet educational gaps they can step in to fill. Fikry points out a huge demand for engaging, Arabic-first lifelong learning, especially for professionals who need practical, market-ready skills. On the flipside, for students, El Barbary notes a real lack of career discovery and hands-on experiential learning \u2014 like internships \u2014 that actually prepare youth for the real-world job market.<\/p>\n

Winning over investors: <\/strong>Surviving and thriving in the sophisticated Gulf market proves a startup has what it takes to handle different environments. Fikry points out that this cross-border success demonstrates \u201cscalability, revenue diversification, and currency resilience,\u201d proving to investors that the company has real \u201cglobal optionality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaving Egypt behind?<\/strong> El Barbary made it crystal clear: \u201cThe GCC expansion did not replace Egypt \u2014 it complemented it.\u201d Egypt\u2019s huge, affordable talent pool makes it the absolute perfect ground for building and testing new products. Fikry shares the belief, adding that they use revenue from the Gulf to scale teams in Egypt and offer global exposure to local talent, creating a reinforcing loop.<\/p>\n

Above and beyond:<\/strong> This strategy of setting a firm foot in Egypt as the creative, operational powerhouse and another foot in the Gulf as the giant stage to scale is paying off beyond just the Middle East. Fikry notes that succeeding in the high-expectation Gulf market acts as a \u201cglobal credibility bridge\u201d that sends strong signals to Europe and the US. By building this \u201cscaling muscle,\u201d as El Barbary calls it, these edtechs are refining their compliance now so that entering Western markets later will be \u201cmore intentional and less experimental.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGCC expansion did not replace Egypt \u2014 it complemented it,\u201d OBM Education CEO Omar El Barbary tells EnterpriseAM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":686929,"template":"","categories":[7211],"tags":[8517,7095,401,73,179,72,11740,123],"class_list":["post-686928","blackboard","type-blackboard","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blackboard","tag-almentor","tag-blackboard","tag-edtech","tag-education","tag-enterprise-blackboard","tag-enterpriseam","tag-obm-education","tag-startups","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"eabe750e-b126-48d1-80b5-afe3dbef798a","order":"14","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"2","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"Egyptian edtechs are now crossing the Red Sea to mature","related_issue":[686903],"teaser":"\u201cGCC expansion did not replace Egypt \u2014 it complemented it,\u201d OBM Education CEO Omar El Barbary tells EnterpriseAM","photo_link":"","related_sponsor":"","voice_url":"","en_translation_ref_id":"","section_story_id":""},"yoast_head":"\nEdtech startups\u2019 strategy: Test in Egypt, scale in the Gulf - EnterpriseAM Egypt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Edtech startups\u2019 strategy: Test in Egypt, scale in the Gulf\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cGCC expansion did not replace Egypt \u2014 it complemented it,\u201d OBM Education CEO Omar El Barbary tells EnterpriseAM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EnterpriseAM Egypt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T04:35:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\" \/><meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/\",\"name\":\"Edtech startups\u2019 strategy: Test in Egypt, scale in the Gulf - EnterpriseAM Egypt\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-09T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T04:35:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blackboard\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Edtech startups\u2019 strategy: Test in Egypt, scale in the Gulf\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/\",\"name\":\"EnterpriseAM\",\"description\":\"The State of the Nation\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization\",\"name\":\"EnterpriseAM\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/240894.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/240894.svg\",\"caption\":\"EnterpriseAM\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Edtech startups\u2019 strategy: Test in Egypt, scale in the Gulf - EnterpriseAM Egypt","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Edtech startups\u2019 strategy: Test in Egypt, scale in the Gulf","og_description":"\u201cGCC expansion did not replace Egypt \u2014 it complemented it,\u201d OBM Education CEO Omar El Barbary tells EnterpriseAM","og_url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/","og_site_name":"EnterpriseAM Egypt","article_modified_time":"2026-03-09T04:35:24+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","type":"","width":"","height":""},{"url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg","width":1,"height":1,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/","name":"Edtech startups\u2019 strategy: Test in Egypt, scale in the Gulf - EnterpriseAM Egypt","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-03-09T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-09T04:35:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2026\/3\/438.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/edtech-startups-strategy-test-in-egypt-scale-in-the-gulf\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blackboard","item":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/blackboards\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Edtech startups\u2019 strategy: Test in Egypt, scale in the Gulf"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#website","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/","name":"EnterpriseAM","description":"The State of the Nation","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#organization","name":"EnterpriseAM","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/240894.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/240894.svg","caption":"EnterpriseAM"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blackboard\/686928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blackboard"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blackboard"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blackboard\/686928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":686983,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blackboard\/686928\/revisions\/686983"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue\/686903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}