Jordan-Based Abwaab Acquires Egypt-Based Apex To Build End-To-End Academic Pathways Across The Middle East

Jordan-based edtech platform Abwaab has acquired Egypt-based Apex Education, a startup specializing in global university admissions, to expand its offering into international higher education pathways across the Middle East. 

Founded by Hamdi Tabbaa, Sabri Hakim, and Hussein AlSarabi in Jordan in 2019, Abwaab provides curriculum-aligned online lessons, assessments, and progress-tracking tools for secondary school students across the MENA region, with localized content tailored to each country's curricula.

Meanwhile, Egypt-based Apex Education, which was co-founded by Leila Hassan, Hussein Elkheshen, and Mohamed Ebieda, is a specialized college admissions platform that has helped students secure spots at top-ranked and Ivy League universities across the US and the UK.

Speaking to Inc. Arabia, Tabbaa said that Abwaab emerged from the founders’ shared experience of scaling technology-led businesses across the region. "Abwaab was founded in late 2019 and officially launched in February 2020," he shared. "I co-founded the company with Sabri Hakim, who, at the time, was managing Careem’s business while I was leading Uber across several markets in the region, and Hussein Al Sarabi, our co-founding CTO. My time at Uber was a life-changing experience. Scaling a technology-led business across the Middle East opened my eyes to what technology can achieve when applied thoughtfully to real-world problems. At the same time, I was enrolled in an executive leadership and strategy program run by Harvard University for Uber managers. That experience reinforced a realization I had been sitting with for a while: if technology can transform mobility, its impact on education could be far more profound. Education is foundational. It shapes opportunity, social mobility, and long-term outcomes, not just for individuals, but for entire societies."

This realization thus informed Abwaab’s early focus and subsequent expansion, Tabbaa said. “That conviction led us to start Abwaab in Jordan with a clear mission: to deliver high-quality, outcome-driven education to students across the Arab world, beginning where impact and trust matter most, school years," he explained. "We initially focused on secondary and high school students, helping them perform better academically, get ahead, and succeed in high-stakes exams. Since then, Abwaab has expanded into Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, Egypt, and Qatar. Our long-term vision is broader. We aim to become the lifelong learning partner for students across the region, supporting them through different stages of their academic and professional journeys.” 

The acquisition of Apex Education thus builds on Abwaab's long-term ambition by bringing a specialized college admissions platform into its expanding ecosystem. From Tabbaa's point of view, the two businesses complement each other at both a product and philosophy level. “The acquisition of Apex is highly strategic for Abwaab," Tabbaa said. "It directly complements our recently launched private tutoring offering, which has seen strong demand—particularly in Saudi Arabia and the GCC, where families increasingly seek premium, highly personalized academic support, especially for international programs and complex exam systems. When we met Hassan, it became clear that Apex had built something exceptional. Beyond its impressive track record of helping students gain admission to leading universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, and others, what stood out was the depth of guidance and trust Apex provides to families, regardless of rankings, backgrounds, or starting points.” 

Tabbaa also pointed to a shared way of thinking between the two companies’ leadership as a key factor behind the deal. “Leila [co-founder and CEO of Apex] is a strong, mission-driven founder whose values and way of operating closely align with how we build at Abwaab," Tabbaa said. "That made the decision to join forces feel very natural. Structurally, Apex will continue to operate under its own brand, with Leila staying on board and leading the college admissions and academic guidance vertical. What changes is the scale and infrastructure behind it.” 

Through the integration, Apex’s offerings will be scaled across Abwaab's network, expanding the reach of its college admissions and academic guidance, while also allowing Abwaab to expand into end-to-end academic services. “By integrating Apex into Abwaab’s platform, we’re able to power its services with our regional footprint, technology, operational strength, and growing artificial intelligence capabilities, without compromising on quality or personalization," Tabbaa said. "Strategically, this moves Abwaab beyond learning and test preparation into end-to-end academic pathways. Apex becomes Abwaab’s premium offering for students pursuing international programs and university admissions, allowing us to support students not just through school, but through one of the most important transitions of their lives.” 

In many ways, the acquisition represents a continuation of Abwaab’s original trajectory, Tabbaa added. “From day one, Abwaab’s vision has been to become a lifelong learning partner for students across different stages of their lives," he explained. "In our early years, we were intentionally focused on secondary and high school students, iterating relentlessly on our product and service to deliver meaningful academic outcomes and earn trust at scale. As Abwaab grew, and as we began graduating hundreds of thousands of students from school each year across the region, the next step became obvious. Supporting students through what comes after school is a natural extension of that trust and responsibility.” 

Reflecting on the lessons that he has learned building an edtech in the region, Tabbaa noted that integration, ecosystem thinking, and trust-building are key to value creation. “Education is not a single product, it’s a journey," he said. "Different stages of a student’s life require different forms of support, levels of personalization, and modes of delivery. Over the past five years, we’ve learned firsthand that meaningful impact in education comes from ecosystem thinking, not point solutions. To deliver real value, platforms need to combine learning, guidance, accountability, and trust, often through a hybrid model that blends technology, human support, and offline touchpoints. This is especially true in the MENA, where education is deeply trust-based and outcomes-driven."

And that's why, from a long-term perspective, Tabbaa said that Abwaab's success will continue to be defined by delivering consistently good results for learners. “Five years from now, success for Abwaab means being the most trusted learning brand in the region, one that families rely on across critical educational transitions," he said. "It’s not about offering a single product or being everywhere at once. It’s about building an ecosystem that consistently delivers outcomes, evolves with students’ needs, and compounds trust over time. This acquisition strengthens our outlook. It’s a clear step toward the company we’ve been building since the beginning.” 

Zooming out to look at the industry at large, Tabbaa also highlighted the critical role that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) can play in catalyzing the growth—and potential impact—of edtech companies like Abwaab in the MENA ecosystem. “The region has many strong, focused players solving specific problems exceptionally well," Tabbaa pointed out. "Thoughtful M&A allows companies to bring these capabilities together under a shared mission, accelerating impact rather than reinventing the wheel. At Abwaab, we’ve always been open to collaboration with founders and teams who share our vision. As the ecosystem matures, we believe leaders will emerge not by doing everything alone, but by building integrated systems that put students first. That’s the direction we’re committed to.”  

Pictured in the lead image from left to right are Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder of Abwaab, Leila Hassan, co-founder of Apex Education, and Sabri Hakim, co-founder of Abwaab. Image courtesy Abwaab.