The top education technology platform in the MENA area, Emonovo (previously MARJ3), has secured an undisclosed bridge round from key angel investors in the US, Europe, and MENA, as well as a follow-up investment from Flat6Labs.
Emonovo (Formerly MARJ3) is the top education technology platform for the MENA area, using data and technology to connect young people in the region with the greatest majors and universities throughout the world. The participating angel investors have outstanding histories in the EdTech, FinTech, HR, and investment industries and have accumulated substantial work experience at major corporations like META, Klarna, and Alan as well as renowned VC and Private Funds.
“This strategic investment round is going to help us make Emonovo available to more students than ever before. Our mission is to help students achieve their educational dream, and I am super excited that our investors are aligned with us on making our unique solutions and technology experience available for everyone soon,” said Sami Al-Ahmad — CEO & Co-Founder at Emonovo.
This investment aims to strengthen the new brand strategy and fuel the platform’s development in university onboarding and student recruiting. Additionally, it will be utilised to modernise the platform’s technology, which will improve data management and matching.
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Why The Investors Invested
“Flat6Labs has been a firm believer in Emonovo’s team and platform from day one. This investment is a testament to our belief in Emonovo’s mission to empower students in the MENA region in their educational journey. We’re excited to see how the team will develop their platform even further and support more potential students towards fulfilling their educational ambitions in the best universities around the world,” said Dina El-Shenoufy, Chief Investment Officer of Flat6Labs.
“I am a firm believer in the power of education to transform people’s lives, and I’m super excited to be backing the team behind Emonovo,” said Willie Elamien, an angel investor.
“As a proponent of tech and social impact, I’m delighted to invest in Emonovo, the future of higher education in the region,” said Rama A. Chakaki, an angel investor.
A Look At What The Investor Does
Abdo Samy, Sami Al-Ahmad, and Ahmed Elgebaly established the Marj3 platform in July 2016 as a comprehensive database offering educational options for Arab youth globally in a straightforward manner. The platform received pre-seed investment from Flat6Labs’ FAC Egypt Fund in 2017, less than a year after it was founded. This allowed the platform to expand and reach a far wider section of the Middle Eastern target population, resulting in more than two million monthly visitors to Marj3’s website.
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As they developed in 2020, they were able to get fresh funding from a US-based investor (Expert Dojo), which they used to establish the Marj3 education services that would assist Arab students in finding the top colleges in the globe. Then, in a short time, Marj3 was able to establish collaborations with more than 300 colleges worldwide.
The three co-founders made the decision to help students fully from beginning to end of their educational journey in 2022. They switched from the realm of scholarships to that of university and student matching. Marj3 changed its name to Emonovo in March 2022 after making several internal and external changes as well as new branding.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexpert