Edventures
Edventures is the venture capital arm of Nahdet Misr Group, investing in early-stage African EdTech startups via the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship. The Cairo-based firm has supported 36 startups across three cohorts since inception, with no product revenue of its own.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersGîza, Egypt
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Edventures does
Edventures is the venture capital arm of Nahdet Misr Group, an Egyptian media and publishing conglomerate, founded in 2017 and headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. The firm invests in early-stage EdTech startups across Africa, with a primary operational focus on Egypt. Its flagship initiative is the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, run in partnership with Mastercard Foundation's Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning, which has supported 36 startups across three cohorts since inception. The third Egypt cohort, comprising 13 startups, was selected in June 2026.
Edventures does not develop products; it functions as an investment and incubation vehicle. Selected portfolio companies receive business support, financial support, training linked to learning science, and introductions to innovation hubs across Africa. The portfolio spans diverse use cases including medical education, early childhood learning, healthcare education, enterprise software skills, women's upskilling, disability inclusion, employability, social-emotional learning, AI-powered early childhood learning, VR/AR educational experiences, and accessibility solutions for persons with disabilities. Leadership comprises Dalia Ibrahim (Founder & CEO), Heba Abdelfattah (Program Manager), and Maged Harby (General Manager).
The firm's business model is impact-oriented rather than revenue-driven. Capital is sourced primarily from Nahdet Misr Group and the Mastercard Foundation partnership, with no disclosed management fees, carry economics, AUM, or exit realizations in the available data. Edventures operates against a cited $57 billion potential African EdTech investment opportunity and projected African education spending of $740 billion by 2030, framing a large addressable market but one in which the firm currently captures value primarily through programmatic support and equity exposure to early-stage startups.
Edventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Edventures
- Website
- https://nmedventures.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Edventures is the venture capital arm of Nahdet Misr Group, investing in early-stage African EdTech startups via the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship. The Cairo-based firm has supported 36 startups across three cohorts since inception, with no product revenue of its own.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Edventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital - EdTech Investment
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro industry
- Digital Learning, EdTech Enablement & Connectivity for EducationBusiness & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Education & Skills Development Programs
Keywords
Where Edventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gîza
- HQ country
- Egypt
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Edventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Edventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Edventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Nahdet Misr Group that invests in and incubates early-stage EdTech startups across Africa. The firm primarily operates the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, which provides selected startups with business support, financial investment, training grounded in learning science, and connections to innovation hubs across Africa. Across three cohorts, the program has supported 36 startups operating in areas such as medical education, early childhood learning, healthcare education, women's upskilling, disability inclusion, and social-emotional learning.
Product overview
EdVentures is the venture capital arm of Nahdet Misr Group, focused on investing in African ed-tech startups. The firm operates the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship program, which provides selected startups with business support, financial support, training linked to learning science, and connections to innovation hubs across Africa. EdVentures is not a product company; it functions as an investment and incubation vehicle supporting early-stage education technology companies across three cohorts totaling 36 startups.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship
Companies that use Edventures
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Edventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Edventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Mastercard Foundation's Centre for Innovative Teaching and LearningcoreProvides learning science expertise and insights to EdVentures' portfolio companies through the EdTech Fellowship program, helping startups develop educationally grounded products and services.
- Nahdet Misr GroupcoreEdVentures is the venture capital arm of Nahdet Misr Group, a major publishing and education group in Egypt. This parent relationship provides EdVentures with deep sector expertise, industry networks, and institutional credibility in the education space.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Edventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- 500 Global (500 Startups): Global early-stage accelerator and VC with active MENA programs. Comparable for its cohort-based seed acceleration model and emerging-market portfolio construction.
- Omidyar Network: Global impact investment firm with significant African EdTech and education equity exposure. Comparable for its mission-aligned, equity-stage investing in African education ventures, though broader in scope.
Direct peers
- Partech Africa: Dedicated Africa-focused early-to-growth-stage VC fund. Comparable for its Africa-only mandate, early-stage portfolio construction, and active EdTech exposure across the continent.
- Algebra Ventures: Egypt-based early-stage venture capital firm investing across technology and tech-enabled sectors. Directly comparable as a fellow Cairo-based early-stage VC operating in the same geography and stage.
- Flat6Labs: Leading MENA seed-stage accelerator and early-stage investor headquartered in Cairo. Comparable as a fellow Egypt-rooted seed/early-stage vehicle providing capital plus structured support to startup cohorts.
- Sawari Ventures: Egyptian VC firm managing the Egypt Ventures fund and backing early-stage Egyptian and North African startups. Comparable for its Egypt-based early-stage investing mandate and similar portfolio company profile.
- Injini EdTech Accelerator: Africa-focused EdTech-specific accelerator and investor. Closest direct comparable given its explicit EdTech-only mandate, cohort-based support model, and African geographic focus.
- Co-creation Hub (CcHUB): Pan-African innovation hub and investor with active EdTech programs across Nigeria and East Africa. Comparable for its early-stage Africa investing with sector-specific programs and learning-science-aligned support.
- TLcom Capital: Africa-focused early-to-growth-stage venture capital firm. Comparable as a peer Africa-focused VC with similar stage mandate and exposure to early-stage African tech-enabled startups.
Emerging players
- Acumen: Global impact investor with active education and workforce portfolios across Africa. Comparable for its impact-first mandate supporting African EdTech and skills startups through patient capital and learning-design expertise.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Edventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Edventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Edventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Edventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments33 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Edventures
What does Edventures do?
Edventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Nahdet Misr Group that invests in and incubates early-stage EdTech startups across Africa. The firm primarily operates the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, which provides selected startups with business support, financial investment, training grounded in learning science, and connections to innovation hubs across Africa. Across three cohorts, the program has supported 36 startups operating in areas such as medical education, early childhood learning, healthcare education, women's upskilling, disability inclusion, and social-emotional learning.
Is Edventures a public or private company?
Edventures is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Edventures founded?
Edventures was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Edventures based?
Edventures is headquartered in Gîza, Egypt, in the Africa region.
Who are Edventures's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are 500 Global (500 Startups) and Omidyar Network. Direct peers are Partech Africa, Algebra Ventures, Flat6Labs, Sawari Ventures, Injini EdTech Accelerator, Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) and TLcom Capital. Acumen is listed as an emerging player.
Does Edventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Edventures.
What industry is Edventures in?
Edventures's product category is Venture Capital - EdTech Investment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAKAH, Digital Learning, EdTech Enablement & Connectivity for Education. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.