Palestine Startup Bambinotes Raises Seed Funds From Ibtikar Fund Bambinotes, a Palestine-based startup digitizing parent-teacher communication for pre schools, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed investment from VC firm Ibtikar Fund.

Bambinotes, a Palestine-based startup digitizing parent-teacher communication for pre schools, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed investment from VC firm Ibtikar Fund. Having launched in MENA in March 2017, Bambinotes is a subscription-based platform that creates a channel of communication between early-childhood education institutions and parents, via web and app, thereby saving schools time and money, and allowing parents to stay updated, while going paperless. Prior to this funding, the startup received monetary support from Ibtikar Funs in June 2017, being a part of their accelerator program. Bambinotes aims to use the funding proceeds to "scale services in the MENA region, and reach out to more nurseries and pre schools with focus on the GCC area."

While the region's kindergartens and pre schools typically communicate with parents via phones or through social media, Bambinotes believes that their web platform and app saves time, cost and resources for their clients. Currently serving over 1,000 users through client organizations across Palestine, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, a few key features of the solutions include public announcements, personal messaging to individual parents, learning and assessment reports, events schedule etc.

Bambinotes' CEO Odeh Awwad believes that Ibtikar Fund's local and regional network can help open doors for Bambinotes, and specifically appreciates the VC firm's "open-door policy, which helps in taking faster strategic business decisions." Ibtikar's special focus on Palestinian startups made them Awwad's VC of choice when Bambinotes was looking to raise funds. "As they have great relation with the startups ecosystem in Palestine, and they act hand in hand with funded startups when it comes to operational level, and strategic planning, it's not only about funding, but also mentorship, and valuable advice along the way," he says.

Commenting on the Bambinotes investment, Habib Hazzan, Managing General Partner, Ibtikar Fund, says in a statement, "We believe that there is a great opportunity for the success of Bambinotes in the Arab world. It is the first of its kind in the region, in terms of its comprehensiveness, up-to-date technology, and ease of use, and the first platform available in Arabic. Bambinotes provides kindergartens with the opportunity to offer competitive, new, and easy to use services, and gives parents the opportunity to be more involved in their children's development and education."

Related: Palestine VC Firm Ibtikar Fund Raises US$2.5 Million From Regional And Global Investors