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This is the main entry point for every form of external support we seek. The 13 docs below cover the assets we hand out, the audiences we ask, and the action templates we send. Start here, branch to whatever you need.
Last verified: 2026-05-19.
All docs in this section
Three layers — assets, audiences, action.
Assets — what we hand to anyone who asks (3 docs)
| Doc | What's in it |
|---|---|
| Traction | The canonical number set every cold email + grant application + investor deck copies from |
| Deck | 10-slide investor deck content (problem, solution, why-now, market, product, traction, business model, competition, team, ask) |
| Data Room | Due-diligence checklist + index (Tier 1 public, Tier 2 NDA-gated) |
Audiences — who we ask, in priority order (8 docs)
| Doc | What's in it |
|---|---|
| Sponsors | Vendor credit stack ~$750K face-value — Stripe Atlas, Microsoft, Google, AWS, Anthropic, OpenAI, GitHub, Vercel |
| Grants | Non-dilutive — NTDP, UNESCO Sudan TEP, Mastercard Foundation EdTech, USAID DIV, IsDB, Mozilla, Sovereign Tech Fund |
| Competitions | Hackathons + pitch competitions — NTDP Challenges, MIT Arab Startup, GESS Awards, WSIS, LEAP, MSAR |
| Incubators | Regional Sudan + MENA + Africa — Orange Corners, MSAR, Impact Hub Khartoum, Falak, Injini, AfriLabs |
| Universities | Graduation projects + training centers — UoK, KAUST, KFUPM, AUC, Tuwaiq, Re:Coded, ALX |
| Partners | Ministries, CSR, NGOs, Awqaf, telcos, banks, public figures, diaspora, less-obvious channels |
| Accelerators | Global brand programs — YC, Sanabil 500, Misk500, Flat6Labs, Hub71, OpenAI Grove, Mastercard EdTech Fellowship |
| Investors | VC/angel archetype map — Owl Ventures, STV, Sanabil, Wamda, Raed, Wa'ed; term-sheet stance |
The order above mirrors our non-dilutive-first strategy: sponsors and grants before equity, regional and academic before global investors.
Action — pitch surface + outreach templates (2 docs)
| Doc | What's in it |
|---|---|
| Pitch | The single audience-routed pitch surface — investor pitch, partner pitch, grant pitch, sponsor pitch all in one doc |
| Outreach | 19 copy-pasteable templates (T1-T19) for cold emails, warm intros, follow-ups, replies, with variable glossary |
Strategy
Why we seek external support, what we raise, when, and what we refuse.
Executive summary
We are post-MVP with one live pilot (King Fahad Schools). We are not pre-product, and not a deck. We've earned eligibility for outside support and we go after it deliberately, in this order:
- Non-dilutive first — grants (NTDP, Mastercard Foundation EdTech, UNESCO Sudan TEP), vendor credits (Microsoft, Google, AWS, Anthropic, OpenAI), incubator stipends (Orange Corners, MSAR), CSR partnerships (Aramco, Bank of Khartoum, SABIC).
- Accelerators second — KSA-anchored (Sanabil 500, Misk500, Flat6Labs Riyadh, Hub71), global EdTech (Mastercard EdTech Fellowship, OpenAI Grove, YC).
- Equity last — SAFE-cap from MENA EdTech-aware VCs (Owl Ventures, STV, Wamda, Raed, Wa'ed) only after non-dilutive routes are exhausted or insufficient for the milestone.
The point of this sequence: maximize the runway-per-dilution ratio. Every dollar of grant + credit + accelerator stipend is a dollar we don't sell equity for.
Why now
| Signal | Source |
|---|---|
| Live pilot domain | kingfahd.balqalam.com |
| Public demo with credentials | demo.balqalam.com |
| 4,912 TS/TSX source files, 52 automated tests | See Traction |
| AR/EN i18n parity (2,247 / 2,243 strings) | src/components/internationalization/ |
| MVP scope shipped across 14+ epics | MVP |
| Sudan reopened schools Feb 2026 after 3-year hiatus | UNESCO TEP 2025-27 |
What we're raising
Stage: Pre-seed bridge. We are not raising a priced seed yet. The seed milestone is 10 paying schools + $50K+ MRR — until that is in hand, we raise non-dilutive + small SAFE.
Target: $250K-$500K total across instruments over the next 12 months.
Use of funds:
| Bucket | % | 12-month deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering (1 senior hire) | 35% | Payment-umbrella P0/P1 + offline engine + AI tutor MVP |
| MENA sales (1 lead + 1 SDR) | 30% | MENA-10 conversion → 10 paying schools → MENA-25 cohort |
| Pilot subsidies (free for 3 months) | 15% | 10 free pilots fully serviced incl. onboarding visits |
| Compliance + entity setup | 10% | KSA legal entity, Sudan registration, third-party security audit, SSO/SAML |
| Runway buffer | 10% | 2-month operational reserve |
Instrument ladder
Apply in this order. Lower row = more dilutive / slower; only used when the row above is exhausted.
| Instrument | Typical ticket | Equity / cost | Time-to-close | Priority | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor credits | $1K – $350K (in-kind) | 0% — free runway | 1 day – 2 weeks | 1 | Sponsors |
| Grants (non-dilutive) | $5K – $2M | 0% — reporting burden only | 3 – 9 months | 2 | Grants |
| Competition prizes | $5K – $1M | 0% — time only | 1 – 3 months | 3 | Competitions |
| Incubator stipends | €5K – €50K | 0% — program time | 1 – 6 months | 3 | Incubators |
| Accelerator (zero-equity) | $0 – $100K | 0% — program time | 3 – 5 months | 4 | Accelerators |
| Academic / university partnerships | In-kind labor | 0% — coordination overhead | 3 – 6 months | 4 | Universities |
| CSR / strategic partnership | Variable | 0% — relationship work | 2 – 9 months | 5 | Partners |
| Accelerator (equity) | $100K – $500K | 5 – 10% common/SAFE | 3 – 5 months | 6 | Accelerators |
| SAFE (cap) | $100K – $500K | TBD at conversion | 4 – 12 weeks | 7 | Investors |
| Convertible note | $250K – $1M | TBD + interest | 4 – 12 weeks | 8 | Investors |
| Priced seed round | $1M – $3M | 15 – 25% | 4 – 9 months | 9 (defer) | Investors |
What we will NOT do
- Premature equity dilution. A priced seed at < $50K MRR signals weakness; we wait.
- Pivot-demanding programs. If a program requires us to abandon Arabic-first or open-source positioning, we walk.
- Debt. Not appropriate at our cash position; revisit only when we have collateral revenue.
- Revenue-share deals that lock the open-source license. The SSPL-1.0 commitment is structural.
- Toxic terms in any equity instrument — full ratchet anti-dilution, > 1× participating prefs, board control at seed. List lives in Investors.
- Pay-to-pitch. Any "accelerator" or competition that asks for an application fee > $50 is a filter.
Decision cadence
- Weekly captain review — pipeline state across audiences; new applications; replies received; follow-ups due.
- Monthly checkpoint — match against GTM phase gates. If MRR or pilot count missed, do not advance to the next instrument ladder rung.
- Quarterly fundraising review — re-baseline use-of-funds, milestones, runway, and the entire instrument ladder. Refresh Deck + Data Room.
Phase gate against GTM
GTM defines three phases (Sudan beachhead → MENA-10 conversion → MENA-25 expansion). Each phase has its own fundraising posture:
| GTM phase | Fundraising posture |
|---|---|
| Phase 1 — Sudan beachhead | Grants + credits + incubator stipends + competitions only |
| Phase 2 — MENA-10 conversion | + Accelerator (zero-equity), SAFE (cap) from MENA-aware VCs |
| Phase 3 — MENA-25 expansion | + Priced seed (after 10 paying schools, $50K+ MRR) |
Today we are in Phase 2. We do not run Phase 3 fundraising on Phase 1 evidence.
Sources
On This Page
All docs in this sectionAssets — what we hand to anyone who asks (3 docs)Audiences — who we ask, in priority order (8 docs)Action — pitch surface + outreach templates (2 docs)StrategyExecutive summaryWhy nowWhat we're raisingInstrument ladderWhat we will NOT doDecision cadencePhase gate against GTMSources