Leap Scholar earmarks $20m for Middle East expansion

Leap Scholar, a South Asian education technology start-up and study-abroad platform, aims to invest $20 million in the Middle East to expand its operations.

Students in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, and Israel will be able to use the company’s services, which is based in San Francisco. It also plans to grow into neighbouring regions, according to a statement released on Wednesday.

“This is a major step in our journey as we move ahead full steam in 2022 to take the Leap Scholar platform global. We are starting with the Middle East and we plan to subsequently expand to South-East Asia, South Asia and North Africa,” said co-founder Vaibhav Singh.

Education was one of the first industries to digitize while being one of the most affected by transportation restrictions owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to research firm Report Linker, the Middle East and Africa’s EdTech and smart classroom market is expected to reach $7.1 billion by 2027.