Kuwait based EdTech startup Baims has closed a seed round, Led by Al-Wazzan Education and joined by Seeds partners and several angel investors.
Baims, short for Big Aims, was founded in February 2017 by then still engineering students Yousef Alhusaini and Bader AlRasheed at Kuwait University. Starting with the College of Engineering, the duo and their friends sought to be the first to digitize the offline tutoring experience, making educational content accessible anywhere, anytime, with unlimited access to students during their term. With a 70% discount on the usual price tag of a normal tutoring hour, the Ed- Tech startup broke even within 24 hours.
With an initial focus on engineering courses, Baims began by tailor fitting high-quality tutoring courses based on the university curriculum. Baims Instructors consist of top tier professors, engineers, and tutors. As of 2020, the start-up has expanded its scope to include multiple colleges and universities in Kuwait and Riyadh and has also added very well received courses for high school students.
Yousef Alhusaini, Co-Founder and CEO of Baims said: “Baims have been profitable since day one, and we believe that everyone should make money when they work with Baims - so basically, instructors invest their time and teach students, and create a new source of income, and they can do that while they are anywhere and anytime.”
The platform offers a revenue-sharing model with its instructors, who provide content tailored to each subject's curriculum by recorded courses, notes and quizzes. Baims is available on web, iOS & Android, making teaching accessible on all devices. As of 2020, Baims has created more than 1000+ recorded courses, 30,000+ lectures. Reaching more than 450,000+ course enrollments.
Bader AlRasheed, Co-Founder and CTO of Baims said: “Our ultimate goal is to be a part of the student’s life, Baims stands for Big Aims and our aim is to build a strong youth community for a better educational ecosystem in the GCC & MENA region and improve educational content.”
As the COVID-19 crisis persists, Baims led the market by offering all of its high school courses for free, amassing over 130,000 new course subscriptions, and introducing a large section of the high school population to this new method of learning.
Mohammad Al Wazzan, representing the AlWazzan Education group, said: "Education is ever-changing, and Baims is a prime example of true accesible, and inclusive education in a modern world. We at AlWazzan education are incredibly happy to be a part of the Baims family, and we’re excited to join this dynamic movement.”
Fawaz AlObaid, a Managing Partner of Seeds partners, said: “We are thrilled to be joining Baims, a startup who we feel serves a much needed purpose in our modern society. Baims is a unique and well guided startup, focusing on empowering the youth and offering other models of education. EdTech has always been an intriguing field for Seeds Partners and we are extremely honored to be associated with Baims and its founders in helping pave the way for future generations".
So what’s next for Baims? The co-founders both expressed an interest in growing within the GCC and MENA region and creating a more dynamic and fuller experience for students
.
Are you a startup looking for investment? Apply for funding to 70+ investors now.
Despite the COVID-19 crisis, MENA's startups saw an increase in funding in Q1 2020. Find out more in our Q1 2020 MENA Venture Investment Report which is hot off the digital press.