Inspired acquires Lebanese Edtech Synkers to expand into new markets
Inspired Education Group (“Inspired”), a global group of premium schools educating over 50,000 students across five continents, has acquired private tutoring company, Ostaz (previously known as Synkers). The move strengthens Inspired’s portfolio of online education businesses and will see Ostaz expand its offering into new markets.
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Founded in Lebanon in 2017 as Synkers, by Audrey Nakad and Zeina Sultani, the company connects students with the most relevant, trusted, and qualified private tutors to help them complete their learning goals and supports them throughout their academic journey starting from school to official exams (IGCSE, American, IB, A-levels, SAT, IELTS and more) and college admission.
Synkers rebranded to Ostaz earlier this year in anticipation of the global expansion with Inspired.
Ostaz, with its Uber-like user experience, has a personalized matching approach that caters to all learning needs. Every tutor is thoroughly vetted to ensure only the highest quality tutors are appointed, and their performance is continually monitored. It has seen 43,000 students using the service around the world, which has amounted to the completion of almost 65,000 tutoring hours so far across a wide range of curricula such as British (GCSEs, A levels), French, International Baccalaureate, American, Saudi, Egyptian and Lebanese; in addition to languages, prep tests, and soft skills.
Ostaz has so far concentrated its efforts in the MENA region, where it has partnered with leading educational institutions and will now seek to expand globally by leveraging Inspired’s presence around the world.
News of the acquisition comes after Inspired recently launched its online private school, King’s College Online, to UK, European, Middle Eastern, and Asian students. The organisation offers a unique blend of offline and online learning to A-level and GCSE students at an affordable price point.
Nadim M Nsouli, Founder & CEO of Inspired said, “We are thrilled to partner with Audrey, Zeina, and the Ostaz team to expand its offering globally by leveraging Inspired’s presence on five continents. This acquisition complements Inspired’s other recent online initiatives which recently saw the launch of King’s College Online, a unique offering combining an online premium education with an opportunity to attend our physical schools.
"The dynamic team at Ostaz have done a phenomenal job to date expanding in the MENA region and we look forward to working with them on the next phase of their journey as they expand in Inspired’s existing markets as well as new ones.”
Audrey Nakad, Co-Founder & CEO of Ostaz added, “We are excited that Inspired is now our partner and will invest in the future of Ostaz. We believe that our partnership will enable Ostaz to grow its presence across the globe, bringing high-quality and personalised online and offline private tutoring to students from New York to Riyadh. If anything, the Covid-19 pandemic has catalysed the need for services like Ostaz and we see a burgeoning market and great demand for our offer.”
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