Across the Middle East and North Africa, education reform often prioritizes infrastructure and policy over the most critical classroom variable: the teacher. As Saudi Arabia accelerated its education goals under Vision 2030, the need for scalable, localized teacher training became highly apparent. To solve this problem, Saudi entrepreneur Mounira Jamjoom founded Aanaab, an EdTech platform built to provide world-class, Arabic-language professional development tailored to the actual needs of regional educators.
Quick Facts
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Trained over 200,000 educators across the MENA region.
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Won the Saudi National E-Learning Award for Excellence.
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Raised a Series A round to support platform growth.
From Policy Vision to EdTech Execution in Saudi Arabia
Mounira Jamjoom’s path into the education sector blends academic rigor with high-level policy experience. After graduating as valedictorian from Dar Al-Hekma University with a degree in Special Education, she earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from Oxford University.
Returning to Saudi Arabia, Jamjoom worked at the intersection of pedagogy and policy. She served as a lecturer at Dar Al-Hekma and later as Assistant Governor and Adviser at the Education Evaluation Commission. In these roles, she contributed to major national initiatives, including the National Qualification Framework and strategic plans for education reform.
During her time in public policy, she observed that top-down reform initiatives often struggle when teachers are treated as mere recipients rather than central actors. This insight drove her entrepreneurial ambitions. In 2014, she co-founded Emkan Education, a consultancy focused on K–12, higher education, and workforce development across the GCC. Emkan delivered over 100 projects before being acquired by PwC in 2024.
Scaling EdTech Growth Across the MENA Region
Leveraging her system-level experience, Jamjoom launched Aanaab in 2020 with a specific mandate: empowering Arab educators through professional development designed for local realities. Instead of importing Western training models, Aanaab prioritized relevance and accessibility.
The platform provides short, practical online courses, peer learning communities, reflective practice tools, and Cambridge-certified programs. Crucially, the content is delivered in Arabic and structured to fit the actual schedules of working teachers.
Within five years, Aanaab experienced rapid adoption across Saudi Arabia and the broader MENA region. The platform successfully trained over 200,000 educators and established partnerships with ministries and school systems. This traction, supported by a Series A funding round, established Aanaab as a dominant player in regional educational technology.
Expanding Impact on Arab Education Reform
Today, Jamjoom serves as Chairperson of Aanaab, where she focuses on the company’s long-term strategy while her executive team handles day-to-day operations. Following PwC’s acquisition of Emkan, she also transitioned into a Partner role in Education and Skills at PwC Middle East in 2025, leading regional initiatives in human capital strategy and learning innovation.
Beyond her corporate roles, Jamjoom actively contributes to global education conversations. She sits on multiple boards, mentors emerging founders, and holds notable positions including Aspen Institute MELI Fellow, Harvard Business School OPM alumna, and Deputy Co-Chair of the B20 Education and Employment Taskforce.
Her work operates on a consistent philosophy: teachers are the architects of reform. By treating educators as professionals capable of growth rather than compliance, Jamjoom has built essential infrastructure for classroom success in emerging markets.
About Aanaab
Founded in 2020, Aanaab is a Saudi Arabian EdTech platform dedicated to the professional development of educators across the MENA region. The platform offers accessible, Arabic-language training courses, peer learning communities, and internationally certified programs designed to improve teaching practices and elevate classroom outcomes.
Source: Arab Founders
