Jordan-based ed-tech platform Abwaab has acquired Egypt-based college admissions advisory startup Apex Education. This marks a strategic move to expand its services beyond tutoring into end-to-end global university admissions support.
Although the financial details of the deal were not disclosed, the acquisition shows Abwaab’s growing ambition to become a one-stop platform guiding students from classroom learning to placement in the world’s most competitive universities.
Founded in 2019, both companies have carved out strong reputations in their respective niches. Apex Education has built deep trust with families through personalised admissions guidance that has helped students gain entry into elite institutions such as Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford, and Columbia.
Meanwhile, Abwaab has scaled rapidly as a digital learning platform operating across Jordan, Egypt, and Pakistan. With this acquisition, Abwaab aims to unify tutoring, test preparation, and admissions consulting into a single, integrated student experience.
“At Apex, we always believed that with the right guidance, every student can achieve more,” said Leila Hassan, co-founder of Apex Education. “Joining Abwaab allows us to scale our impact, reach more students, and build the infrastructure needed to support them, without sacrificing quality or personalisation.”
What You Should Know About the Acquisition Deal
The acquisition brings Apex Education under Abwaab’s expanding ed-tech ecosystem. It strengthens what Abwaab describes as an end-to-end student journey. Until now, Abwaab has focused primarily on tutoring and academic support, while Apex specialised in high-touch admissions advisory services.
The deal effectively bridges these two stages of a student’s academic pathway. According to Abwaab’s founder, Hamdi Tabbaa, the acquisition aligns directly with the company’s long-term mission.
“Abwaab’s vision is to unlock the full human potential of students across the region,” he said, noting that Apex’s proven track record made it a natural fit.
While the value of the transaction remains undisclosed, the strategic intent is clear, to combine academic preparation with expert admissions guidance in a single platform, particularly for students pursuing international education.
What Does Apex Education Do?
Apex Education is a personalised college admissions advisory startup founded in 2019 by Leila Hassan, Hussein Elkheshen, and Mohamed Ebied. The company focuses on helping students navigate the highly competitive process of applying to top-tier global universities.
Its services typically include one-on-one admissions strategy, school selection, application planning, and tailored guidance designed to improve acceptance outcomes at elite institutions.
Over the years, Apex has built a strong reputation for placing students in some of the world’s most selective universities, including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford, and Columbia.
This focus on personalisation and quality has been central to Apex’s identity, something Hassan emphasized would remain intact under Abwaab.
What Is Abwaab and What Does It Do?
Founded in 2019 by Hamdi Tabbaa, Abwaab is a regional ed-tech platform offering digital learning, tutoring, and academic support services. The company operates across Jordan, Egypt, and Pakistan, serving students preparing for local and international curricula.
In recent years, Abwaab has expanded into tutoring and test preparation for international education pathways, laying the groundwork for a broader education ecosystem. The acquisition of Apex builds directly on this expansion, allowing Abwaab to move beyond academic instruction into the critical final step of university admissions.
By integrating Apex’s expertise, Abwaab is positioning itself as a comprehensive education partner rather than just a tutoring platform.
What Happens to Apex Education After the Deal?
Following the acquisition, Apex Education will continue operating within Abwaab, with its leadership and core services preserved. Leila Hassan will remain at the helm of Apex’s admissions services, ensuring continuity in strategy, quality, and personalised student support.
This approach reflects Abwaab’s intent to scale Apex’s impact without diluting its strengths. As Hassan explained, joining Abwaab provides the infrastructure and reach needed to support more students while maintaining the standards that built Apex’s reputation.
Going forward, Abwaab plans to integrate Apex’s admissions expertise with its tutoring and test preparation offerings, creating what it describes as a unified platform that supports students academically and strategically as they pursue international education.
Why This Matters to Students
For students and families, particularly across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of South Asia, the acquisition represents a meaningful shift in how educational support is delivered.
Instead of relying on separate providers for tutoring, exam preparation, and admissions consulting, students can now access all three services within a single ecosystem.
This integrated approach reduces fragmentation, improves continuity, and increases access to expert guidance, especially for students aiming for highly competitive global universities.
As Tabbaa noted, Apex has “built deep trust with families through a proven track record of placing students into the world’s most competitive universities,” a capability Abwaab now brings directly into its platform.
In MENA region where access to quality admissions guidance is often limited or expensive, the Abwaab–Apex combination could significantly lower barriers and expand opportunities for ambitious students seeking global academic pathways.
Talking Points
This acquisition reflects a broader strategic shift in regional ed-tech from narrow, single-service offerings toward full-stack education platforms, and it is a calculated but complex move.
On one hand, Abwaab’s purchase of Apex Education meaningfully strengthens its value proposition by linking everyday learning and test preparation directly to elite global university outcomes, a connection that resonates strongly with aspirational middle- and upper-middle-class families.
Apex brings credibility, trust, and a proven admissions track record that would have taken Abwaab years to build organically.
On the other hand, the integration challenge is non-trivial, Apex’s success has been rooted in high-touch, personalised advisory services, while Abwaab operates at platform scale, and maintaining quality while expanding access will test operational discipline.
However, there is also a risk of market narrowing, as the combined offering largely serves students already positioned for international education, potentially limiting broader inclusivity.
Notwithstanding, if Abwaab succeeds in preserving Apex’s personalised approach as promised, while leveraging its infrastructure and reach, the deal could set a new benchmark for how ed-tech platforms in MENA move beyond content delivery into outcome-driven education pathways.
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