Ehsan Adouane App: Dubai Schoolboy Plans Tech Venture
Ehsan Adouane app wins $150,000 prize
Thirteen-year-old Dubai schoolboy Ehsan Adouane is preparing to launch a technology company after winning a $150,000 prize for his educational app. He won the Best Youth-made App category at Dubai’s Create Apps Championship, which attracted nearly 10,000 entries from around the world.
The prize is a managed development fund, released in stages over six months against approved expenses and milestones. With his family’s support, Adouane plans to use it to improve the app, conduct research and trials, establish a company in Dubai and attract more users.
The Ehsan Adouane app
Known online as Ettan Ehsan, Adouane developed the app to make learning more engaging for children. It uses quizzes, challenges and games covering maths, science and general knowledge.
Adouane began coding aged five and spent two years developing the prototype using C++ and Qt software tools. His family commissioned an external developer to produce the iOS and Android versions, which are now available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Adouane directs the product’s features and development priorities.
He is a student at Dubai American Academy and has spent years interviewing scientists and technology experts for his YouTube channel, which has 58,000 subscribers. He launched the channel in 2022, initially sharing coding tutorials before expanding into science explainers and interviews.
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In Adouane’s words
“I’m really focusing on trying to make it support school, not replace it,” he said.
His plans include introducing AI to personalise lessons, developing a desktop version and preparing surveys of pupils and teachers. “The first year, it’s really going to be developing the full [app] on all kinds of devices and trying to get my first customers,” he said.
The venture
The proposed business model is to charge schools per student, while outside investment remains a longer-term possibility. The immediate priority is to improve the product and demonstrate demand.
“My main idea is to be able to try to get at least one chain of schools to constantly use my app,” Adouane said.
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