Saudi Unicorns: Saudi Arabia-Based Edtech Noon Education Is On A Mission To Make Quality Education Accessible Everywhere "Noon is a student-first company that is obsessed with crafting learning experiences that deeply connect with students, engage them, and inspire them in many ways."
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This article is part of a series covering enterprises that have been a part of the Saudi Unicorns Program, a national program by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), National Technology Development Program (NTDP), and the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (Misk), to enable and nurture successful and established tech companies to reach unicorn status in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Huddling together with some of your classmates after class hours to understand a concept better—often because the subject teacher hasn't been able to simplify the topic—is an experience that might be familiar to many students. But what if there was a way to not only do this digitally, but also have a capable teacher guiding a given student group? That is precisely the premise on which edtech platform Noon Education (Noon) was built.
"Noon is a student-first company that is obsessed with crafting learning experiences that deeply connect with students, engage them, and inspire them in many ways," says Mohammed Aldhalaan, co-founder and CEO of Noon. "Founded in 2013, Noon was inspired by a deep-seated belief in the transformative power of education, and the need to bridge educational gaps through technology. The primary challenge we address at Noon is the lack of access to high-quality teachers, which we found to be the most critical component of the learning journey. Traditional educational systems often struggle to provide students with teachers who can effectively engage and inspire them, especially in challenging subjects. This issue is personal to us, as my co-founder and I faced it ourselves during our school years. Our goal is to overcome this challenge by leveraging technology to connect students with star teach ers, ensuring that every student has the opportunity to excel academically."
A little over a decade since its launch, the Noon platform is today accessed by over 14 million students (from kindergarten level to Grade 12) across six countries in the Middle East and South Asia, with a significant presence in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and Pakistan. Note here that the platform has taken additional measures to cater to the varied educational curriculums of each country it operates in. "Noon operates on a hybrid education model that combines in-person and remote learning experiences, all enabled by our educational platform," Aldhalaan explains. "The first of our two main offerings is thus the Noon Online Courses—these are online, live courses taught by star teachers, and delivered in a highly engaging way with peers. The key focus is to help students prepare for major, critical life-defining exams, and standardized tests. Our second offering is the Noon Hybrid Learning Experience, which includes a hybrid setup where students are provided with a highly interactive, group-based learning environment in Noon-affiliated schools, labs, and centers that connects them with star-teachers through the Noon Platform."
Perhaps one of the greatest advantages that has come with the advent and rise of edtech services is the democratization of education. And in its mission to "reimagine education," Noon has ensured that its platform is accessible to students in both urban and rural settings. Aldhalaan highlights how this has been a significant point of focus for the company's operations by means of a story— one that has had a profound impact on him and his team. "There was a high school girl from a remote province in Pakistan who faced a significant challenge: she had no access to tutoring centers, which are essential for preparing for critical exams in the country," he narrates. "Struggling and desperate for help, she sent us numerous emails, asking us to include her province's curriculum in our offerings. Initially, this was not a priority for us. However, our team noticed that she had taken the initiative to register herself as a teacher on our platform, and she was teaching lower-grade students to support other girls in her community, who also lacked access to educational resources. Inspired by her determination and dedication, our team made the extraordinary decision to forgo their Eid holiday break to launch our services in her province, just a few weeks before her exams. This act of commitment did not go unnoticed. Later, we were honored by the Minister of Education in Saudi Arabia for our efforts. The girl's perseverance paid off, and she excelled in her exams, eventually securing admission to a reputable college with the major of her choice."
All of Noon's endeavors in reshaping the education landscape have reaped beneficial results for Aldhalaan and his 150-employees-strong team thus far. "Our revenue has grown threefold since 2021, and we continue to see massive growth driven by the need for quality teaching," Aldhalaan reveals. "We have raised US$52 million so far from notable funds and strategic investors, includ- ing $41 million in a Series B round. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 85% since 2021, our potential and value in the long term are immense, aiming to reach significant scale and operational maturity to publicly list the company in a few years from now. We have taught 14 million students, had thousands of teachers and mentors, and are planning to address 120 million students in the region and beyond in the future."
Noon Education co-founders Mohammed Aldhalaan and Dr. Abdulaziz Alsaeed. Source: Noon Education
In achieving such impressive statistics, and in Aldhalaan's confidence to aim for even bigger numbers, the CEO says Noon's unique selling propositions must be credited. The first of these differentiating factors is simply Noon's ability to combine online and traditional teaching methods within its hybrid education model. That said, all of this has only been achieved—and can continue to grow—because of Noon's commitment to leverage the best of what technology has to offer, Aldhalaan adds. "We have invested heavily in our technology, creating a digital infrastructure that supports personalized and effective learning journeys," he says. "We are also well-positioned to capture the artificial intelligence (AI) wave, having all the necessary infrastructure and requirements in place. Our extensive data on national curriculums, millions of students, and billions of learning activities further enhance our capability. Moreover, our extensive network of top-tier teachers and partnerships with educational institutions gives us a competitive edge. The market potential is enormous, with Saudi Arabia alone representing a $50 billion market. Worldwide, the potential is even greater. Our recent shift to hybrid learning has thus unlocked these traditional markets, and enabled us to address the critical need for high-quality teaching, giving Noon a fair chance to become the region's first decacorn—a private company valued greater than $10 billion."
To reach decacorn status, however, Noon will first have to pass the milestone of becoming a unicorn—an achievement that it is already working towards thanks to its participation in the Saudi Unicorns initiative. "Joining the Saudi Unicorns program has been a transformative experience for Noon," Aldhalaan says. "Operating in an environment that champions entrepreneurship and offers robust support has been crucial for our success. The program has connected us with high-growth startups, investors, and strategic partners, shaping Noon's trajectory positively. We were particularly honored by the visit of the Minister of MCIT; his engagement opened doors to strategic partnerships. During his visit, he honored our top teachers, leaving a lasting impact on them, and sponsored our generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) education strategic initiative. His support has greatly enhanced our brand and amplified our story, solidifying our presence in the industry."
Partaking in the Saudi Unicorns program has also brought to the forefront Noon's direct contribution to the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goals. "The vision's focus on educational reform, technological innovation, and private sector involvement seamlessly aligns with Noon's mission and offerings," Aldhalaan explains. "Vision 2030's emphasis on increasing private school enrollment by welcoming the next million students into the private education sector, coupled with its aim to enhance educational outcomes, has inspired us to seize this opportunity, and contribute to the transformative educational landscape." But one mustn't mistake Noon's results and future goals as a reflection of a linear growth journey. Having launched in 2013, just four years following what was called the "edtech boom" in 2009, the company has seen its fair share of ups and downs, particularly in the attitudes expressed towards edtech itself.
"One of the most challenging phases of our entrepreneurial journey at Noon was navigating the post-COVID-19 landscape," Aldhalaan recalls. "As the initial surge in demand for online learning began to wane, we faced a significant shift in sentiment toward online education. Many students and parents grew weary of online learning, and expressed a strong desire to return to traditional in-person education. Nonetheless, this challenge pushed us to innovate, and introduce our hybrid learning model, which has since proven to be a massive success. The hybrid model combines the best aspects of online scalability and in-person engagement, effectively addressing the shortcomings of purely digital or traditional methods. Additionally, being part of Saudi Unicorns, we have been fortunate to have the program help us in further positioning our brand effectively, enhancing our market visibility."
As such, Aldhalaan believes this current model is one that stands Noon in good stead for further expansion too. "As we look to the future, Noon is excited to take bold steps forward in expanding our impact and reach," the CEO declares. "Noon's hybrid learning model is designed to be adaptable and scalable, making it well-suited for international expansion. However, for now, our immediate focus is on the launch of our first full morning school track in Saudi Arabia this fall, utilizing our successful hybrid learning model. This marks a significant milestone in our journey, demonstrating our commitment to revolutionizing education through innovative approaches. Following the successful launch, we plan to scale our hybrid model to additional schools across Saudi Arabia and beyond. Our goal is to establish a network of Noon schools that offer high-quality, technology-enhanced
education, addressing the diverse needs of students."
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