Saudi Arabia-based education technology (edtech) platform Ynmo, has raised a $500,000 seed round from the entrepreneurship investment arm of Aramco, Wa’ed.

Founded by Fahad Alnemary, Faisal Alnemary and Abdullah Murad, Ynmo is Saudi Arabia’s first provider of Arabic-language software aiming to assist children with special needs with their learning and development process. The startup offers specially curated and individualised educational programmes to help parents and special education teachers fulfill the children’s learning needs at home.

According to Ynmo, Saudi students with learning disabilities make up about 10-14 per cent of all students.

“With Wa’ed’s support, we are going to greatly expand the number of children with disabilities whom we can help in Saudi Arabia and beyond. It’s a way for us to give back to our community and have a big and sustainable social impact,” said Abdullah Murad, co-founder of Ynmo.

With the new funding, Ynmo will be able to scale up staff, expand its instructional software - which will enable teachers to create unique individualised lesson plans for students with disabilities across the Middle East.

“Our mission is to advance the Saudi startup economy, and Ynmo is an innovative solution to a pressing issue affecting many Saudi children and their families,” Mr Basrawi said. “At Wa’ed, we are looking to support promising Saudi entrepreneurs such as Ynmo, who are the architects of our Kingdom’s economic future,” said Wassim Basrawi, Wa’ed managing director.

Ynmo’s software is sold on a subscription basis to schools and institutions and is currently being used in disabilities centres run by the UAE Ministry of Community Development. It is currently expanding its online curricula and assessment tools through collaborations with local and international publishers.