Queen Rania meets with winners of Queen Rania Award for Education Entrepreneurship

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Tuesday met with the winners of the Queen Rania Award for Education Entrepreneurship to congratulate them on their innovative efforts to improve education in the Arab world. 

Organised by the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development (QRF) and launched in September 2018, the award aims to recognise the achievements and potential of Middle East-based education companies with a sustainable business model and a focus on social impact, according to a statement from Her Majesty’s office.

The meeting was attended by QRF CEO Bassem Saad and team members of the three winning companies, Little Thinking Minds, Kamkalima and Hello World Kids, which took first, second and third place respectively. 

Jordanian company Little Thinking Minds, represented by its co-founders Rama Kayyali, Lamia Tabbaa and Salwa Katkhuda, produces educational resources to enhance the skills and learning outcomes of children in the Arab world, with a special emphasis on addressing the urgent need for students to become fluent Arabic readers and writers, and measuring the impact of its work, the statement said.

Second place winner, Kamkalima, was represented by its Chief Learning Officer Samar Asso and Marketing Officer Nour El Mofti. The Lebanese company offers edtech tools to teachers and students in middle school and high school to develop Arabic language competencies. Students benefit from personalised learning support, quicker feedback, dynamic Arabic content and its use of artificial intelligence to support learning, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, Jordanian company Hello World Kids, represented by its CEO Hanan Khader, endeavours to teach children computer and mobile programming, helping to bridge the gap between technology and education and support children in becoming digital creators. The company has piloted its work in low resource environments across Jordan, and is working on developing a competitive online offering.

In addition to supporting Arab education businesses, the award was launched in an attempt to understand the state of education entrepreneurship in the MENA region and provide promising entrepreneurs with the opportunity to scale their impact through grant support, the statement said. 

Candidates applying for the competition were required to adhere to specific criteria, including innovation in their approach, their impact to date — which comprises reach, sustainability of the business model and solid evidence of impact — and scaling potential, which factors in access and equity. 

A judging panel comprised of private sector professionals, professionals in education and educators decided on the final three winners after four elimination rounds, according to the statement.