Omani non-profit acquires online Arabic courses marketplace Nadrus

Arabic courses marketplace Nadrus has been acquired by Omani Society for Education Technology (OSET), an Omani non-profit organization that focuses on educational technology and content creation, Nadrus announced in a statement yesterday, without disclosing financial details of the deal.

Founded in 2014 by Ahmad El Chayati and Ahmad Al-Shagra, Dubai-based Nadrus according to the statement, serves 200,000 Arabic speaking learners with over 100 free and paid online courses on different topics including Microsoft Excel, Adobe Photoshop, ecommerce, and Android Development. The courses, like other similar platforms, are delivered through video lessons.

OSET, per statement, aims to enable educators and educational institutions in Oman to utilize technology to bring innovation in teaching and learning, and establish an effective learning environment for learners, “The Omani Society for Education Technology provides its services to over 10,000 OSET members and the educational communities in the Sultanate through various activities such as seminars, workshops, certified training, symposiums and conferences. In addition, the Society aspires to effective digital transformation in education by supporting and sponsoring projects and initiatives related to education technology.”

We could not immediately confirm but it appears that Nadrus had not raised any external capital and was bootstrapped until this acquisition.

Ahmad Al-Shagra, the  co-cofounder and former CEO of Nadrus, in a statement, said, “We believe OSET will help Nadrus have the impact we have been delivering to Arab learners across the region and increase it’s footprint in terms of content, quality of learning, and user base especially in the Public Sector where the society has a significant impact through policymaking and adoption.”

Faisal Al-Balushi, the Chariman of the Omani Society for Education Technology, said, “With Nadrus reach and advanced technology, we at OSET found an excellent opportunity to catapult the way we serve the Omani society and Arab world by acquiring it. We believe we’re combining the strength of two leaders of industry in content and platform to deliver unprecedented value to Arab learners everywhere.”

Earlier this week, Almentor, a Dubai-based video courses marketplace (focused on Arabic content) raised $4.5 million in a Series A round led by Egypt’s Sawari Ventures.