Background
“The Queen Rania Award for Education Entrepreneurship in the Arab World” was launched with the desire to celebrate Arab entrepreneurs and drive investment in startups that are spearheading efforts in education reform in the region. The foundation will support the winning startups through financial grants that are meant to ensure the continuity of their work.
The Queen Rania Foundation announced the first winners in September 2018, paving the way for more of these ambitious initiatives to come forward and be recognized for their efforts to effect radical change through education reform. In its first edition, the award received more than 400 applications from leading startups seeking to change the reality of education by transforming challenges into opportunities to improve education.
Applications were assessed based on innovation, impact and scaling potential by a team of independent experts with knowledge spanning across areas like investment, EdTech, and education research.
Impact
Grants were awarded to three startups at the forefront of educational reform. The three winners stood out for their commitment to addressing at-scale learning challenges that are integral to the region’s future prosperity and well-being.
Coming in first place was the Jordanian startup, “Little Thinking Minds”, and in second place was the Lebanese startup, “KamKalima”, while third place went to another Jordanian startup called “Hello World Kids”.
“Little Thinking Minds” focuses on improving basic reading and writing skills by designing advanced digital solutions and resources for school-aged children".
“KamKalima” is a technology-based learning platform that seeks to introduce the 21st century's most essential skills into Arabic language classes and help students develop their writing and communication skills with a focus on creativity and critical thinking.
“Hello World Kids” specializes in teaching programming for children at schools, starting from the elementary stage.