What e-Marefa does

e-Marefa is a Jordan-based, privately held information services company founded in 2009 that operates one of the largest digital databases focused on Arab-language academic and scholarly content, aggregating more than 7 million records spanning all disciplines in both Arabic and English. The platform is structured as a core database supplemented by a suite of add-on modules — ARCIF (Arab Citation & Impact Factor) for citation analytics, Kashif for plagiarism and similarity detection, Tahkem for peer reviewer selection, Marsad for scholarly production indicators, and Ayna for publication venue guidance — alongside 20+ specialized thematic databases covering subjects such as Islamic Economics and Finance, Military and Security, Social Sciences, Humanities, and Strategic Studies. e-Marefa also hosts smart e-books databases for partner publishers including Obeikan, the Center for Arab Unity Studies, and the Arab Organization for Translation.

The business is monetized through annual, quote-based subscription packages sold to two primary segments: academic and higher-education institutions (universities and research bodies) and government ministries and public-sector research departments. Sales motion is direct-to-institution supplemented by channel partnerships with global academic distributors and library service platforms — notably HARRASSOWITZ, OCLC, ProQuest, Summon, and Zendy — which embed e-Marefa content in mainstream international library discovery infrastructure. The company also operates a structured 'Partners in Education and Development Initiative' with a supervisory body and beneficiary framework to drive institutional engagement in the education and development sector.

The company operates with 11-50 employees out of Amman, Jordan, and shows no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, or ownership structure in the available data. No AI/ML capabilities, patents, regulatory actions, or management team details are disclosed, and the proprietary technology stack centers on Arabic-language content aggregation, full-text search across bilingual corpora, and domain-specific bibliometric tooling rather than disclosed machine-learning infrastructure.

Name

e-Marefa

Website

https://e-marefa.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

e-Marefa is a Jordan-based digital information services company operating one of the largest databases of Arab-language academic content, with over 7 million records and 20+ specialized thematic databases. It sells subscription packages to universities, research institutions, and government ministries via direct sales and global library distribution partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Database Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Book Publishers (513130), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Archives, Libraries & Institutional Access Platforms (MPAJAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB), E-books, Digital Content & Licensing Distribution (CRAOALAE)

Keywords

• Academic database services
• Arab scholarly content
• Research database platform
• Citation analytics tools
• Plagiarism detection software

Headquarters

HQ city

Amman

HQ country

Jordan

HQ region

Middle East

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Academic Subscription Packages: Subscription-based access to academic databases for universities and higher education institutions, providing full-text access to hundreds of thousands of digital information sources in both Arabic and English languages.
2. Government Sector Subscriptions: Subscription packages for ministries, government bodies, and institutions providing research content access for research departments, studies divisions, and library departments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

e-Marefa operates a comprehensive digital database platform aggregating over 7 million records of Arabic and English academic and research content across all disciplines. The company sells subscription-based access to its main database, specialized thematic databanks, and academic research solutions including citation tracking (ARCIF), plagiarism detection (Kashif), peer reviewer selection (Tahkem), and publication guidance (Ayna) to universities, research institutions, and government bodies.

Product overview

e-Marefa is a comprehensive digital Arab content platform offering more than 7,000,000 records across all disciplines. The platform operates on a core-plus-modules architecture, consisting of the main e-Marefa Database as the central product, augmented by academic research solutions including Arcif (citation tracking), Kashif (plagiarism checking), Tahkem (peer reviewer selection), Marsad (scholarly indicators), Ayna (publication guidance), and the Arabic Textbooks database. The platform also offers specialized thematic databases (Social Sciences, Humanities, Economics, Media Studies, Educational Sciences, Women Studies, Youth Studies, Strategic Studies, Conflict and Peace, Legal & Islamic Fiqh, Charitable Work, Islamic Studies, Military & Security, and others) as well as smart e-books databases for partner publishers (Obeikan, Center for Arab Unity Studies, Arab Organization for Translation). The platform provides subscription packages for academic institutions and government sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ARCIF: Arab Citation & Impact Factor - Academic research analytics tool
• Kashif
• Marsad
• Ayna
• Tahkem
• Arcif

Products and services

• e-Marefa Database

Quantifiable outcome

• 7,000,000+ records available covering all disciplines
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HARRASSOWITZcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHARRASSOWITZ is a global library supply firm and distributor serving academic institutions worldwide. Their partnership with e-Marefa enables distribution of e-Marefa's Arab academic database products to libraries and institutions globally through established library supply channels.
• OCLCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOCLC is a global library cooperative providing technology and content services to libraries worldwide. Partnership with OCLC enables e-Marefa to distribute Arab academic content through WorldCat and OCLC's library management network.
• ProQuestcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProQuest is a major academic publishing and research solutions provider. Partnership enables e-Marefa's Arab content to reach ProQuest's extensive network of academic institutions and libraries globally.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• JSTOR: JSTOR is a large digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources widely subscribed by universities globally. It is not Arabic-focused but competes indirectly for humanities and social science library budgets targeted by e-Marefa's specialized databases.
• EBSCO Information Services: EBSCO is a global academic database and discovery provider that operates Arab World Research Source, a direct rival to e-Marefa for MENA library budgets. Its breadth, sales force, and platform integrations make it a key incumbent that e-Marefa must displace or differentiate against.
• Taylor & Francis: Taylor & Francis is a global academic publisher with strong humanities, social science, and area studies portfolios, including content on the Middle East. It overlaps with e-Marefa's subject coverage and competes for the same library subscription dollars.
• Springer Nature: Springer Nature is a major academic publisher with growing Arabic-language and MENA research initiatives. It competes for the same institutional journal, e-book, and database budgets that e-Marefa serves.
• Clarivate (ProQuest): Clarivate, through ProQuest, is a major global academic content and library services provider and a current distribution partner of e-Marefa. It offers broad, multilingual content that competes for the same institutional wallet share and could expand its Arabic coverage over time.

Others

• Turnitin (iThenticate): Turnitin, including iThenticate, is the dominant academic plagiarism and integrity platform used by universities and publishers globally. It is comparable to e-Marefa's Kashif module and represents the global standard that Arabic-language integrity tools must integrate with or displace.

Direct peers

• Kotobarab: Kotobarab is a major aggregator and distributor of Arabic e-books to academic and public libraries, often via HARRASSOWITZ. It competes with e-Marefa's e-book and aggregated content offerings for the same institutional Arabic content budgets.
• Al Manhal: Al Manhal is a leading digital content platform dedicated to Arabic academic books, journals, and theses across MENA universities and libraries. It is the closest direct competitor to e-Marefa, addressing the same Arabic scholarly subscription market with a similar institutional sales motion.
• Knowledge E: Knowledge E operates the CNKI.cn/KnE Publishing platforms and has expanded MENA-focused scholarly content services and discovery tools. It overlaps with e-Marefa in serving regional universities with subscription and discovery infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Hindawi (Wiley): Hindawi, now part of Wiley, is an open-access publisher with significant Arabic and MENA research output and is indexed by services like Summon. It represents the open-access counterweight to e-Marefa's subscription model for Arabic scholarly content.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/marefadatabase
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MarefaDatabase
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/e-marefa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about e-Marefa