Mounira Jamjoom & Aanaab: Scaling Teacher Development in MENA

“Upskilling teachers is something we’re passionate about because it changes the lives of students around the world.” — Mounira Jamjoom.

That belief sits at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s education transformation. As the Kingdom accelerates reform under Vision 2030, one of the most urgent questions is how to scale quality teaching across thousands of classrooms. Quickly, sustainably, and in context. Mounira Jamjoom is answering that question with Aanaab, an award-winning Arabic e-learning platform that’s training over 200,000 educators and redefining how professional development works in the region.

A Thread of Purpose, from Jeddah to Oxford

Mounira Jamjoom’s trajectory wasn’t accidental. Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, she graduated valedictorian from Dar Al-Hekma University with a degree in Special Education. Her interest in pedagogy deepened during her master's studies at Columbia University and later, through her Ph.D. at Oxford University.

Her early roles included lecturing at Dar Al-Hekma and serving as Assistant Governor and Adviser at the Education Evaluation Commission, where she led the development of a "National Qualification Framework" and a "Five-Year Strategic Plan". These experiences grounded her expertise in both academic instruction and national-level education strategy.

Building with Focus, Scaling with Care

Aanaab began as an audacious bet: could you create a high-quality, culturally grounded platform for Arab teachers to access world-class training in their own language? Founded in 2020, Aanaab started with a clear mandate: empower educators, not just institutions.

Under Jamjoom’s leadership as CEO, Aanaab secured a Series A round and scaled rapidly across Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region. Its offering is broad yet focused: bite-sized online courses, Cambridge-certified professional development, learning communities, and tools for reflective practice - all in Arabic.

In just five years, Aanaab:

• Trained over 200,000 educators
• Won the Saudi National E-Learning Award for Excellence
• Established key B2G partnerships across the region
• Grew into a go-to EdTech for ministries, schools, and individual teachers alike

The secret? Not just digital delivery, but emotional intelligence. "I believe in the transformative power of education and very simply love what I do," Jamjoom says. That ethos permeates the platform from its tone to its interface to its choice of instructors.

Emkan Education was the First Draft

While Aanaab is the headline, it’s not the whole story. Before founding the platform, Jamjoom co-founded Emkan Education in 2014, a female-led boutique consultancy focused on transforming education systems across the GCC. Across every milestone, Jamjoom is quick to credit one constant: the strength of her cofounders. “None of this was built alone,” she says. “We’ve been in it together from day one.”

Under her leadership, Emkan:

• Delivered over 100 high-impact projects in K-12, higher ed, and workforce development
• Supported the development of new schools and teacher training programs
• Became known for local insight, global quality

In 2024, Emkan was acquired by PwC. Following the acquisition, Jamjoom transitioned into a Partner role in Education and Skills at PwC Middle East in 2025, where she now leads initiatives in education reform, human capital strategy, and learning innovation across the region.

Expanding Assessment Access with Steller

Jamjoom’s impact doesn’t stop at digital platforms or consultancy work. In 2017, she co-founded Stellar, a company that initially began as the Cambridge department within Emkan Education. Through a groundbreaking agreement with Cambridge Assessment, Stellar became the only authorized body outside of the British Council in Saudi Arabia to offer proper IGCSE assessments, marking a significant step in localized, high-quality academic evaluation.

Since then, Stellar has grown into more than a Cambridge partner. It now offers tailored education solutions across all curricula, helping schools design learning models that improve outcomes and build long-term capacity. This evolution reflects Stellar’s core strength: deep local insight, applied with precision. It also supports Vision 2030’s goals: better access, higher quality, and learning that fits the Saudi context.

Leadership, the Aanaab way

Jamjoom’s leadership isn’t loud. It’s strategic, emotionally grounded, and deeply values-driven. As Chairperson of Aanaab since 2025, she now steers long-term vision while empowering her executive team to innovate. Her leadership also shows up in how she builds alliances. From board roles at Dar Al-Hekma and the Saudi Entertainment Academy to mentoring EdTech founders, she’s not just scaling her ventures, she’s scaling a mindset.

"It took me time to learn, so now I like to tell other people: Remember, you don't have to do everything on your own. There is no human being who does everything on their own anyway.” — Mounira Jamjoom.

It’s a principle she’s lived: co-founding with trusted peers, building strong investor relationships, and creating collaborative platforms that share, not gatekeep, knowledge.

Global Voices, Local Relevance

Dr. Jamjoom is part of a growing global movement to reimagine how we upskill educators in emerging markets. Her recognitions speak to that:

• MELI Fellow, Aspen Institute
• Harvard Business School OPM alumna
• Deputy Co-Chair, B20 Education & Employment Taskforce

She writes, speaks, and advises not just to influence policy, but to shift perception: teachers aren’t just implementers; they are innovators. That core belief underpins everything she builds.

What Comes Next?

Currently a Partner at PwC Middle East in the Education and Skills practice, and cofounder of both Aanaab and Stellar, Mounira Jamjoom is shaping the future of teacher development at the intersection of national policy and private innovation. It’s a space she has helped define over the past two decades.

Her vision? A future where every child in the Arab world learns from a confident, well-equipped, and inspired teacher. Through Aanaab, she’s not just imagining that future. She’s building it.

Follow Founder’s Tale as we spotlight the entrepreneurs building tomorrow’s Saudi Arabia.