OTO Courses, an Egypt-based EdTech startup that offers online English language courses to individuals and businesses, has raised $400k in cash and in-kind services from corporate venture capital firm EdVentures to enhance distance learning methods in Egypt and the Arab world.
With the new investment, the company plans to further develop its platform and expand services to include a larger segment of users, especially middle and secondary school students by delivering educational programs in a variety of areas and subjects.
Founded in 2015 by Ahmed Badr and Tarek Nour El-Din, OTO’s online learning platform provides learners the flexibility to choose session dates that suit them, with the opportunity to communicate directly with lecturers. OTO stands for one-to-one (tutoring). All the courses on its platform come with dedicated hours of one-to-one live tuition with an instructor.
The startup aims to bridge the gap between traditional education and what the market needs by providing distant educational services through its digital platform.
Speaking about the company, Co-founder and CEO of OTO Tarek Nour El-Din said,
“We, at OTO, seek to be a leading platform for online learning in Egypt and the Middle East, and to provide high-quality services and avail them to everyone.”
Since its launch, OTO has delivered 350,000 hours online to more than 15,000 learners. The company has more than 150 teachers/lecturers on its platform.
Adding further about the company, Ahmed Badr, CCO of OTO said,
“The company aspires to play a key role in educating children and youth in the Arab world through the provision of the latest EdTech. We will continue offering high-quality services at the most affordable rates to our users so all segments can benefit from our platform.”
OTO had earlier launched DardshEnglish, a platform for booking one-to-one voice practice sessions with English speakers.
Commenting on the investment, Dalia Ibrahim, Founder & CEO of EdVentures, said,
“We are delighted to continue our support for OTO, which has proven its success over the years. Its founders have succeeded in regularly upgrading the platform in order to improve the effectiveness of its services. Our investment comes today to assist OTO in extending the provision of high-quality distance learning services to thousands of learners.”
In June 2020, OTO raised an undisclosed amount in a bridge round from AUC Angels and Changelabs. Prior to that, the company had raised a seed round from HIMangl and EdVentures in 2018.
