IoT Kids secures an equity investment from Earthlink Telecommunications; Iraq’s largest ISP, through the Iraqi Angel Investors Network
IoT-Kids, an Iraqi-based online programming learning platform for children, has successfully secured five-figure investment from the leading ISP provider in Iraq; Earthlink Telecommunications through the Iraqi Angel Investors Network member; Dr. Ala’a Jasim. This investment included a matching grant of 20,000 dollars from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH via its project “ICT for Youth in Iraq” as part of the organization's support to the Angel Network.
IoT-Kids was founded in 2015 by Mohammad Khaled and Ali Taher in Iraq as a provider of programming courses for schools across the country. The company has launched its online platform in 2019 to provide its users with digital versions of its courses. The company boasts a digital community of more than 200,000 users and has had more than 10,000 students complete its courses. Ali Taher, the COO of IoT Kids commented “We are very excited to have Earthlink as part of our journey, the funding will help us expand our online platform, marketing efforts and in due course expand outside of Iraq to other countries in the region”.
Earthlink Telecommunications is the largest and fastest-growing Internet Service Provider in Iraq and its portfolio of services includes ICT solutions, data centers, and managed services catering to the needs of the public and private sectors. Dr. Ala’a Jasim, the Deputy CEO of Earthlink Telecommunications, said: “Earthlink's commitment to building strong internet infrastructure in Iraq derives from its vision to be the technology driver of Iraq’s future, and we already come a long way evolving from an internet service provider to an internet economy enabler. Our investment into IoT Kids echoes our strategy and we see a great potential in IoT Kids vision to raise a new tech enabled-generation”.
IoT Kids has won multiple local and international competitions including that of the Falling Walls Foundation in Germany, the World Summit Awards, and first place awards as an Iraqi startup for Seedstars in 2019. IoT Kids has recently graduated from the Takween Accelerator Program; a Yanhad project implemented by the American University of Sulaymaniyah.
Mujahid Waisi, the CEO of Kapita, commented “We are very happy to see locally established businesses play an increasing role in supporting the private sector through actively investing into the local Iraqi ecosystem”. Ali Al Suhail, the Network Manager for the Iraqi Angel Investors Network commented “IAIN key mission is to enable investments into Iraqi businesses, our members engaging in corporate ventures is a positive indicator of established businesses and startups working together to enable disruption”.
About IoT Kids: IoT Kids is an online learning platform for children between ages 5 – 15 years that focuses on coding-related content, the company also offers online and in-person classes. Its educational content covers a wide range of subjects including Game Design, Robotics, Electronics, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and 3D Modeling.
About Earthlink: Earthlink Telecommunications started in 2005 as an Internet service provider. Within just a few years, Earthlink has become the largest Internet service provider in Iraq. We serve every city and town in the country, as well as our presence in several major cities around the world. Earthlink is not just an Internet service provider; we provide ICT solutions, data center services, managed services to business and government organizations, and much more.