Startup of the Week: Hello World Kids - Coding the Youth's Future

Believing in the unlimited capabilities and potentials of the youth, Hanan Khader decided to establish the Arab world’s first startup dedicated to teaching children programming and coding; Hello World Kids.

People tend to usually think of codes and programming languages as complicated materials that only experts can understand. However, the founder and CEO of Hello World Kids, Hanan Khader, views this world through a different lens. 

“We were the first in our neighborhood to have a computer and it opened up a whole new world. I started to code in my spare time and every achievement filled me with pride and a burning desire to accomplish more.” - Hanan Khader

Khader thinks writing a code goes beyond writing a language that a computer can decipher. It is a process that evokes analytical thinking, problem solving and creativity. It teaches patience, determination, commitment and communication.

Since Khader believes that these skills are essential elements of any successful person, she thought that nothing could be better than empowering our youth with these traits and skills from a very young age. And this is when Hello World Kids saw the light in 2015.

The ambitious startup heavily invests its resources in teaching Computer & Mobile Programming for children between the ages of 7 to 12. And although it is based in Jordan, its reach and effect has been witnessed across the entire Arab world. Not forgetting to mention that the startup’s curriculum is currently being enlisted as a mandatory subject to be taught in Jordan’s private and public schools.

During the “pandemic year”, Hello World Kids managed to transform a crisis into an opportunity. The thriving startup took advantage of the fact that children are being forced to attend their classes remotely due to lockdowns and closure of schools. And since they’re spending more time on their screens already, why not make the best out of it? Thus, Hello World Kids decided to launch an international coding competition where children from all over the world had the chance not only to learn the art of coding, but also win up to $5000! 

The pandemic made it crystal clear that our future will be heavily relying on technological advancements. In other words, coding will be a necessary skill if not a requirement in almost every job in the future. Hence, it’s imperative that our youth learn this essential language from a very young age.