Before we begin
Two houses. One ambition.
K2 Learning and Learning Edge India Pvt. Ltd. come together to grow India's happiest preschool.
Joint venture partner
K2 Learning
Little Elly's parent company
Learning Edge
Scroll to continue
What the two houses hold
Everything already built.
Joint venture partner
An education group spanning schools, pre-university and career IPs.
Little Elly's parent company
Learning Edge India Pvt. Ltd. — the house Little Elly calls home, alongside three sister brands.
Master Franchise PartnershipOur family is growing.
An invitation to belong. An opportunity to build together.
India's Most Admired Preschool
The curriculum behind the brand
1 lakh+ parents have loved our H.A.P.P.Y. curriculum
Five commitments — H, A, P, P, Y — the child at the centre of all of them.
Outcomes we nurture
Confident
Believes in herself, and takes on new things.
Curious
Asks questions long after the class ends.
Independent
Makes choices and does things on her own.
A Healthy body
Movement, nutrition, rest.
An Awakened mind
Wonder before worksheets.
A Playful heart
Play, taken seriously.
A Purposeful self
Small independences, daily.
A Yearning to learn
The outcome that outlives school.
Compassionate
Notices other children, and is kind to them.
Creative
Imagines, makes, and thinks in new ways.
School ready
Ready for big school, and for life after it.
Confident
Believes in herself, and takes on new things.
Curious
Asks questions long after the class ends.
Independent
Makes choices and does things on her own.
Compassionate
Notices other children, and is kind to them.
Creative
Imagines, makes, and thinks in new ways.
School ready
Ready for big school, and for life after it.
Inspired by
Montessori
Independence · Hands-on · Prepared environment
Steiner
Imagination · Rhythm · Nature · Story · Music
Play-based learning
Child-led · Inquiry · Discovery · Social
Research-informed practice
Brain development · Relationships · Evidence
“Happy is not the mood we aim for. It’s the method.”
The magic that happens in the class.
The foundations that shape a child, every day.
Smarter children, brighter future
Visual ability
Mental ability
Mathematical ability
Language ability
Emotional intelligence
Perceiving emotions
Understanding emotions
Managing emotions
Using emotions
A H.A.P.P.Y. child, measured in what they can do.
The sector, in Dubai
A city that keeps arriving young.
Dubai does not have India's problem of scale. It has the opposite one: a small, dense, young, overwhelmingly expatriate family base that expects an internationally recognised early years programme — and a regulator that insists on one.
0.0M
People in Dubai
Still growing every single year, largely by arrival rather than birth.
Dubai Statistics Centre, published estimates
~0%
Expatriate residents
Families without extended family nearby. Childcare is not optional for them.
Dubai Statistics Centre, published estimates
0+
Licensed early childhood centres
A regulated, permitted, inspected market — not an informal one.
KHDA, publicly reported figures
The regulator is the moat
KHDA lets few in. We already qualify.
Dual income is the norm
Two salaries in. Full day, not optional.
Parents shop on quality
Fees are governed. Reputation decides.
Demand sits in the communities
Ground floor. Shaded play. Few such sites.
Figures are drawn from publicly available sources for orientation only. They are indicative, not a projection, and require confirmation from KHDA, DET and independent advisers.
Section two
The invisibleasset.
Twenty years of doing it the hard way — so you don't have to.
The invisible asset · six moments
We started.
Twenty years ago, there was no roadmap. Just a room, a few filled seats, and a conviction.
We learned it the hard way.
Wrong sites, wrong hires, wrong assumptions — each one paid for once, and each one now a rule in the operating system you receive.
We rebuilt.
Rewrote the curriculum. Then rewrote it again. And again, until children led it.
We listened.
Every classroom taught us something a spreadsheet couldn't. So we measured both.
It became a way.
172 centres later, it isn't luck. It's a method — repeatable, teachable, proven.
Now, the gift.
The hardest part is already built. A Master Franchise partner starts from there, not from zero.
And the map has a shape
The communities we are looking at.
Family-dense residential neighbourhoods, where ground-floor premises with outdoor play can realistically be found. Every site is subject to KHDA and Dubai Municipality approval before anything is committed.
That is where a centre owner comes in.
Indicative shortlist. Site-by-site, subject to regulatory approval.
Two ways in
FOCO, or FOFO. One platform under both.
One piece at a time. Each answer settles into the table below — by the end, you have the whole comparison in one place.
Land and building
You
Owned by you, or held by you on long lease
You
Owned or leased by you
One platform under both
Common to both models
What the platform carries for you.
Seven things you never build. Identical under FOCO and FOFO. Hover any tile for the detail.
Brand & curriculum
The name, the programme, the academics — supplied and kept current.
Hover for detail
Training
Your team is trained before you open, and again every year.
Hover for detail
Admissions & pricing
Fees and enrolment are governed centrally. Centres never undercut each other.
Hover for detail
Marketing & leads
Campaigns run centrally; the enquiries land at your centre.
Hover for detail
Technology & MIS
One system for enquiries, admissions, attendance and collections.
Hover for detail
Quality & child safety
Every centre audited on the same scorecard. Ratios watched, always.
Hover for detail
Regulatory pathway
The KHDA route is walked with you, not explained to you.
Hover for detail
Where responsibility sits
Three parties. No overlap.
One line each. Hover for what sits underneath it.
Franchisor
Owns the brand and the learning
Brand, curriculum, academic training, quality audit, technology.
Master Franchisee
Builds and runs the Emirate
Sites, approvals, local marketing, support — and operations under FOCO.
Centre owner
Owns the centre
Funds and owns the asset. Runs it only if you choose FOFO.
Said plainly
What to weigh before you sign.
Four things a serious centre owner should press us on.
FOCO counterparty
Your rent depends on our operating.
Asset specificity
Building holds value. Fit-out mostly doesn't.
Variability
Collections move. So does the payout.
The FOFO ramp
Salaries start on day one. Enrolment doesn't.
And the numbers
The rates live in the term sheet.
Commercial rates, term, payment cycle and transfer provisions are set out in the term sheet and governed by the definitive agreements.
This deck is a summary prepared for discussion. It is not an offer, and it does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. Nothing in it is a representation or assurance as to financial performance or return. Prospective centre owners should take independent legal, tax and financial advice.