A combination of factors, including government initiatives and the population mix, have come together to create a perfect storm where after-school math learning has found fertile soil in the UAE.
Edtech mathematics one-on-one tutoring platform Cuemath saw “explosive growth” when it launched in the country last June with its CEO Vivek Sunder saying: “The UAE has seen more growth for us than any of the 50 countries we operate in. Following our launch there, we now have over 180,000 students subscribed.”
“The GCC is a story of two parts: you have a rich diaspora, among the blue-collar workforce, on the one hand and the local population on the other. Given that it is such a big melting pot, and the leaders of the GCC are all uniformly talking about to a knowledge economy, we think that math will become even more important than it already is,” said Sunder.
“A lot of the diaspora working here excelled in their education growing up, or else they would not merited the jobs they hold, and so they believe in good education. Driven by their leadership’s initiatives- and here I am talking about smart cities, the initiatives to attract innovators and coders etc. – the local population also values solid education for their children,” he continued.
Last July, the UAE launched its National Programme for Coders, which aims to attract and train more than a 100,000 coders, with the goal of propelling the country forward as a digital hub and address the shortage of tech talent.
From hyperlocal to edtech
Prior to the pandemic, private tutoring used to be “hyperlocal” where children were tutored in-person and close to home but coronavirus changed that, catalysing the adoption of math edtech platforms, explained Sunder.
“The pandemic accelerated digital education and so all the boxes have been ticked. Local governments in the UAE, and broadly the GCC, are encouraging knowledge education, diaspora are seeking it and digital meant that geography is no longer relevant,” said Sunder.
“We are well positioned as a company to benefit from these changes. The UAE is our most happy hunting ground for customer acquisition because of these three forces coming together to make the perfect storm,” he added.
Given that math is the foundation for careers in engineering and technology, and that the majority of private tutoring businesses are “artisanal and run by small companies”, Sunder believes Cuemath is scratching the surface of “additional-to-school online math education, a market worth over $20 billion, as per our estimates.”
Cuemath announced on Tuesday its expansion to Oman, following its launches in Qatar and Saudi Arabia in the GCC.
“Outside the UAE – and as a global-facing business – Cuemath is targeting a doubling of its market presence in 2022, to 100 countries,” said Sunder.
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