Educatly, a Dubai-based start-up that connects students to global higher education opportunities, saw a significant increase in platform users between January and September of 2022. Educatly’s student community has grown fivefold in the last nine months, from 100,000 to 500,000, and now spans more than 150 countries and territories.
Educatly’s goal, inspired by LinkedIn’s platform, is to make it easier for students to study abroad, which will help attract more international students to Dubai while also connecting students from the region to global universities.
In addition to the significant increase in user numbers, 2022 was marked by several milestones for the tech start-up, which was founded in 2020 by former LinkedIn employees. Educatly has expanded its reach into the higher education industry, featuring over 3,000 universities on its platform and securing active recruitment agreements with 500. It also recently added Ali Matar, Head of LinkedIn’s MENA and EMEA growth markets, to its Board of Advisors.
Educatly Founder & CEO Mohmmed El Sonbaty said: “We are thrilled that the global appetite for transnational student education has bounced back since the pandemic. Our unique platform is providing students with the opportunities to study abroad and enrol at leading international universities around the world. We have seen a spike in interest in students joining our platform from the UAE and we are witnessing further growth in Dubai emerging as the next international higher education destination.”
On behalf of in5, Majed Al Suwaidi, Senior Vice President of Dubai Media City, said: “At in5, we seek to foster a thriving community for smart individuals; a space where they can obtain valuable advice from mentors and advisors and transform their aspirations into businesses with sustainable growth. Expanding the reach and influence of start-ups is a top priority – that’s why one of our key goals is to facilitate access to potential investment. We are proud to have Educatly as one of in5 tech’s start-ups as they have demonstrated impressive growth despite launching their business amid a global pandemic. Educatly’s new software-as-a-service (SaaS) demonstrates their strategic alignment with UAE’s Digital Transformation, Sustainability, and other initiatives. Their presence at in5 gives us the opportunity to showcase the diversity of promising start-ups in our city and region, while providing the most extraordinary with a global platform for their unique ideas.”
Educatly’s new software-as-a-service (SAAS) had a helping hand in its growth by increasing the monthly recurring revenue for more than 28% month over month. Its built-in coding and design implements a smart recommendation feature using a special matchmaking algorithm that links students to relevant degrees, universities, and countries according to their requirements.
The system automatically informs the university partners of new leads and profiles to facilitate student recruitment. This unique feature is vital to the networking effect of building Educatly’s social media platform.
The start-up is currently developing the usage of blockchain for data verification, which is essential for them to provide legitimate students records to relevant universities. This is also crucial for foreign students who want to further their education overseas because it might be challenging to obtain original copies of their degrees elsewhere.
