What Maharah does

Maharah (مهارة) is a privately held, founder-financed Arabic-language online training marketplace founded in 2013 and operated by co-founders Fouad Al-Farhan (فؤاد الفرحان) and Sami Al-Hussein (سامي الحصين). The platform enables any individual to register as an instructor, upload course content (a minimum of five items totaling at least 30 minutes), and publish courses for either free access or a fee, after an administrative review. It serves as the non-academic counterpart to the founders' larger Rwaq (رواق) MOOC platform, specifically targeting subject-matter experts who do not satisfy Rwaq's academic credentialing criteria but want to monetize practical knowledge.

The platform is built by customizing the open-source Rwaq technology stack and is tightly integrated with Rwaq for user authentication, allowing learners and instructors to sign in with their existing Rwaq accounts. As of the latest disclosed snapshot, the marketplace hosts 116 courses distributed across eleven categories, including Technical Skills (30), Personal Skills (24), Artistic Skills (22), Administrative Skills (14), Programming Skills (6), Marketing Skills (5), Education and Training (5), Engineering Skills (4), Cybersecurity (3), Life Skills (2), and Others. The catalog includes both free and paid courses; paid courses are priced in Saudi Riyals (example price point: 34.5 SAR) and revenue is split 50/50 between the instructor and Maharah. Distribution is instructor-led via personal social media and YouTube channels, with no dedicated paid acquisition infrastructure, and the platform has no mobile app, public API, or disclosed enterprise sales motion. The geographic focus is the broader Arabic-speaking world across the Middle East and North Africa, with Saudi Arabia as the primary market and the United Arab Emirates also referenced.

Maharah operates without external venture capital, private equity, or institutional funding, and is funded entirely through direct personal investment from its two co-founders. It sits alongside Rwaq and Junnah (جنّة) as part of a broader series of education-technology initiatives by the same founders. Revenue is not disclosed, the platform has no published API or SDK, no AI/ML capabilities of its own, and no enterprise customer base beyond a content partnership with Microsoft for AI skills courses aimed at women.

Name

Maharah

Legal name

مهارة (Maharah)

Website

https://maharah.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Maharah (مهارة) is a privately held, founder-funded Arabic e-learning marketplace launched in 2013 that lets any individual publish and monetize online courses, serving Arab-speaking learners and instructors across the Middle East and North Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Learning Marketplace

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses (MPACALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Virtual/Hybrid International Short-Term Academic Programs (EDAIAIAL), Professional & Executive Short Courses (Non-Degree, International) (EDAIAIAH)

Keywords

• Online learning platform
• E-learning marketplace
• Course marketplace
• Arabic education
• Professional development

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Course Enrollment Revenue Share: Platform takes 50% commission on paid course enrollments while instructors retain 50%. Free courses generate no revenue.
2. Free Courses (Pre-revenue): Many courses are offered free of charge, building user base and platform engagement without direct monetization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Maharah (مهارة) is an Arabic-language online training marketplace where independent third-party instructors create, publish, and sell their own video-based courses across categories such as IT, marketing, photography, programming, languages, and soft skills. The platform serves Arabic-speaking learners with both free courses (typically 2–4 hours) and paid courses (typically 5+ hours), and operates on a 50/50 revenue-share basis between the platform and the course instructor.

Product overview

Maharah (مهارة) is an Arabic online training platform that functions as a marketplace for courses. The platform enables anyone to both teach and learn skills across various domains. The core offering consists of the main platform (maharah.net) where instructors publish courses, a course marketplace with 116+ courses across categories like technical, administrative, artistic, programming, marketing, and life skills, and an instructor account system that supports course creation, content management, and revenue sharing (50% to instructor, 50% to platform). The platform is customized from the Rwaq (رواق) academic platform and represents a joint project by founders Fawaz Al-Farhan and Sami Al-Husein.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Maharah (مهارة) Online Training Marketplace The core marketplace offering that aggregates video-based courses from independent third-party instructors across categories including marketing, IT, photography, crafts, management, sales, soft skills, office tools, customer service, languages, translation, programming, and writing. The marketplace is delivered through a web-based platform built on the Rwaq open-source LMS infrastructure and is offered to Arabic-speaking learners with a mix of free courses (typically 2–4 hours) and paid courses (typically 5+ hours) priced from SR 99 to SR 700+. Revenue is generated through a 50/50 commission split with the course instructor.
• Instructor Course Publishing Service A self-service publishing capability within the Maharah marketplace that allows any registered user — without academic credential requirements — to create, upload, and publish their own video-based courses. Instructors retain 50% of paid course revenue and gain access to an Arabic-speaking learner audience across the categories supported by the platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% revenue share for instructors on paid courses
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rwaq (رواق)coreTechnology or IntegrationMaharah platform was developed by customizing the Rwaq platform. Users can log in using their Rwaq accounts. Rwaq is an established Arabic e-learning platform that became the largest Arabic MOOC platform within 1.5 years. Maharah was created to serve users who couldn't meet Rwaq's academic instructor requirements.
• Junnah (جُنَّة)minorOthersJunnah is another initiative by founders Fawaz Al-Farhan and Sami Al-Husein. Part of the series of educational technology initiatives targeting the Arab world's education and training sector.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Udemy: Global creator-led course marketplace with a revenue-share model and broad professional/technical catalog. Udemy is the closest business-model analog to Maharah (open instructor publishing, paid and free courses, take-rate monetization) and competes for the same Arabic-speaking professional learner.
• FutureLearn: Online course marketplace with partner institutions and a mix of free and paid short courses. FutureLearn mirrors Maharah's short-course, professional-development positioning and shares the international, non-degree course format.
• Rwaq (رواق): Direct sister platform sharing the same two co-founders, the same technology stack, and user authentication. Rwaq is the academic-focused Arabic MOOC that Maharah was spun out from to serve non-academic instructors, making it the most directly comparable platform in market positioning and content format.
• Alison: Free global e-learning platform with extensive Arabic-language course content and certificate tracks. Alison directly competes with Maharah on free Arabic content for working professionals and on the international learner footprint Maharah targets.
• Skillshare: Creator-led course marketplace focused on creative, professional, and technology skills with project-based courses. Skillshare's open-publishing marketplace model and category breadth (creative, technical, business) closely mirror Maharah's 11-category catalog structure.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Largest global MOOC with university and enterprise partners, now offering Arabic content and Professional Certificates. Coursera is a broader incumbent with credentialed programs that compete with Maharah for serious professional learners seeking recognized outcomes.
• edX: University-backed MOOC offering degrees, professional certificates, and executive education. edX competes in the same Arabic professional-development segment with stronger credentialed programs and global brand recognition.

Regional players

• iStudy: Arabic-language professional development and training platform offering courses in Arabic for working professionals in the Gulf. iStudy competes for the same Arab professional learner and paid-course wallet that Maharah targets.
• Edraak: Arabic-language MOOC founded by the Queen Rania Foundation serving the same Arab professional learner segment. Edraak is the most direct regional competitor, offering Arabic content, free courses, and professional certificates aimed at MENA workforce development.

Emerging players

• Junnah (جنّة): Sister initiative by the same Maharah co-founders focused on women's education in the Arab world. Junnah is comparable as a same-founder, Arabic-language e-learning ecosystem play, though it targets a narrower audience than Maharah.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/alfarhan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maharah

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Maharah