Mohamed Gawish: iSchool Aims to Lead the Coding Education Market in the Region and Expand Globally

Identifying a market gap and working to address it effectively is the foundation of any successful startup. This is clearly reflected in the success story of iSchool, a fast-growing education technology company that aims to lead the coding education market in the region and expand globally.
Entrepreneur Mohamed Gawish, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of iSchool, shares the details of this journey in an interview with Egypt Innovate.

Entering the Technology Education Sector
Gawish studied Electronics Engineering at Cairo University and began working in teaching programming and robotics engineering in 2014. In 2017, he received a scholarship from the United States Embassy in Cairo to study at Indiana University in the United States, where he studied entrepreneurship and project management.

Robotics Competitions
After completing his studies, Gawish had the opportunity in 2018 to work with the Japanese information technology company Fujisoft, which organized robotics competitions where children competed alongside adults. He also traveled to China to work on organizing robotics competitions, where he observed strong participation by children as well.

A Gap in Coding Education
Based on his experience, Gawish identified a clear gap in coding and technology education for children in the Middle East. He decided to address this gap by co-founding iSchool in Egypt with his partners Mostafa Abdel Moneim and Ibrahim Youssef. The idea was formed in 2018, and the company officially launched online in 2019.
The company teaches children and teenagers aged six to eighteen, offering specialized training courses in various technology fields, including programming in different languages, electronic games, software development, website and application development, robotics, graphic design, artificial intelligence, and other disciplines.

Rapid Growth
Gawish explains that iSchool achieved rapid growth due to the importance of its offerings and the lack of specialized technology training programs for its target age group. He adds that demand increased significantly in Egypt following the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019, and the company was able to attract students from other countries as well.
Today, iSchool has students from the Arab region, Europe, and the United States, especially as its programs are available in both Arabic and English.

Competitive Advantage
While there are other platforms that teach technology-related skills, Gawish notes that iSchool stands out in several ways. It targets a specific age group and designs its curricula in a way that matches children’s cognitive abilities.
In addition, most existing platforms offer short-term learning plans, whereas iSchool provides long-term learning paths extending up to six years of continuous education, allowing students to progress gradually from one level to more advanced stages.

Internationally Accredited Curricula
According to Gawish, the courses are delivered by some of the best programming instructors in the world. Moreover, iSchool’s curricula are internationally accredited, having been approved by the global Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics organization for research and accreditation. This recognition positions iSchool as one of the most important education technology platforms in Africa.

Skills for the Job Market
The platform also equips students with skills required for some of the most in-demand technology jobs today, including artificial intelligence and machine learning. Gawish explains that iSchool’s mission aligns with the visions of several countries. For example, Egypt’s Vision 2030 aims to reach one million programmers, which requires educating current generations in programming today so they can become the programmers of 2030. He adds that the platform has helped some students start generating income through freelance work.

Challenges
Gawish points out that one of the main challenges iSchool faced in its early stages was raising awareness among parents about the importance of what the company offers. The team had to clearly explain the value of teaching programming to children in order to gain parents’ trust.
This process required significant time and effort, but awareness has since improved considerably as the importance of coding education has become widely recognized.

Key Milestones
The platform succeeded in attracting investors, as iSchool became recognized as an influential player in the education sector after winning several awards and participating in various competitions. Among these milestones was its selection to participate in the Plug and Play Middle East program in 2022, supported by the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency. As a result, Gawish visited the Plug and Play headquarters in Silicon Valley in the United States.
Gawish also won the Founder of the Year award for the North Africa region at the Global Startups Awards 2021, held in South Africa. In addition, iSchool received the World Summit Awards 2023 from the United Nations, which recognize educational platforms contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the goal of quality education.

kidsafe Accreditation
The success journey continues, as iSchool recently announced that it has officially obtained the kidSAFE Seal Program certification, becoming the first education technology company in Egypt to receive this prestigious international accreditation. This places iSchool among a global group of major platforms such as Minecraft Education, Roblox, and Tinkercad Education.
This accreditation reflects iSchool’s commitment to providing a safe and child-appropriate digital learning environment, in line with the highest global standards for protecting young users.
Gawish emphasizes that this recognition is not merely a certificate, but a global acknowledgment of iSchool’s ability to deliver a trusted, secure, and child-friendly digital education experience, supporting its vision of delivering high-quality education.

Attracting Investment
Regarding investments, Gawish notes that the company has raised a total of six million United States dollars since its founding. He confirms that iSchool was capable of continuing its journey without external investment, as it was growing in a healthy and sustainable manner, but these investments helped accelerate growth significantly.
The first investment round took place in 2021, with funding of one hundred and sixty thousand United States dollars from EdVentures, a fund specializing in investing in education technology companies in Egypt. The company secured additional funding in 2022.
The most recent investment round was completed in December 2023, raising four and a half million United States dollars, led by Venture Wave Capital, an Irish venture capital firm. The round also included participation from Oraseya Capital, the venture capital arm of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority.

Global Expansion
Following this investment, Gawish explains that iSchool expanded into Ireland as a first step toward global expansion and established a headquarters there. Regarding competition in Ireland, he notes that there are no major platforms offering technology education services in the market.
He adds that strong competition mainly comes from Asia, particularly India, which hosts many education technology companies, although they tend to focus more heavily on the United States market.

Expansion in Saudi Arabia
As part of its strategy to lead the coding education market in the region, iSchool expanded into Saudi Arabia.
Gawish states:“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s vision in artificial intelligence education represents a historic step. At iSchool, we are proud not only to expand within the Kingdom, but also to contribute to a national movement that will redefine how children learn, create, and lead in a technology-driven world. Our experience in the region proves that when students are given the right tools, they do not merely use technology, they innovate with it.”

Advice
Gawish continues to share advice through social media platforms. He explains that his long-standing experience in the education sector has enabled him to simplify complex information. In 2023, he decided to appear on social media to share his experience with others by offering management-related advice.
Drawing from his experience in managing iSchool, Gawish highlights that the most important success factors include maintaining strong cash flow sustainability, delivering high-quality service and customer experience, carefully selecting team members, and avoiding reliance on personal relationships or recommendations alone. Instead, he emphasizes the importance of testing and evaluating employees to ensure their skills and capabilities before making hiring decisions.