Under a share-swap agreement, Tyro, an EduTech platform that connects students with qualified instructors through one-on-one and group sessions, will acquire Nafham, an Egyptian social startup that provides free crowdsourced educational content.
Tyro’s leadership will take over Nafham’s management and operations as part of the agreement, which will improve the customer experience for Nafham’s 6 million users. Tyro will serve as the overall holding company, continuing to provide live tutoring services while also expanding the group’s technological capabilities. Tyro has also secured a kickoff fund from several investors, including Flat6Labs and NXL Partners, for the new entity.
“Both companies joining forces will technically make us the largest Edutech platform in the MENA region providing both, live online tutoring as well as recorded educational video content,” says Mokhtar Osman, Tyro CEO. “It is crucial to capitalize on both the technology capabilities, and a solid customer base, to be successful. With this merger, we are well-positioned to take the platform to the next level.”
“This deal has put an end to the on-going debate of which is the better and more efficient service offering: live tutoring vs. pre-recorded sessions,” says Ahmed El Alfi, Nafham Co-founder. “This way, we are able to deliver both services on top of innovative technology that makes for a seamless and immersive educational experience through providing this hybrid model.
Nafham is one of the largest online educational platforms in the Middle East with 6 million annual users and over 150 million views garnered on their video content. Nafham’s content is focused on school curricula of Egypt, KSA, and UAE for k-12. “Nafham has a very strong & established brand presence within the MENA region which is why we’ll be focusing on further strengthening the Nafham brand,” says Mokhtar Osman.
Tyro is an online tutoring platform that helps thousands of students in studying for examinations and learning a new language. Tyro has completed over 50,000 paid sessions since its launch in 2017, has been scaling at double-digit growth rates, and is financially self-sustaining.
“Online education is here to stay and its adoption has only been significantly accelerated due to the pandemic. It is now considered a permanent source of knowledge and content generation,” says Amir Sabry, Tyro Co-founder. “This acquisition also confirms our commitment to delivering Edutech products and services for years to come, and our impregnable belief in our model.”
