From the Marble Trade to EdTech: Salman Haider's EduGateHub Is Building One Platform for Pakistan's Schools

Pakistan's education emergency is usually told in numbers, and the numbers are stark. According to the Girls Education Statistics and Trends Report 2023-24, prepared by the Pakistan Institute of Education with the Ministry of Education, 26.2 million children are out of school, 13.41 million of them girls. The same report found that only 19 percent of schools have digital devices. Article 25-A of the Constitution promises every child between the ages of 5 and 16 a free education, yet much of the system still runs on paper registers, printed flyers and word of mouth.

It is into this gap, between a huge education sector and its almost complete lack of digital organisation, that a Karachi startup called EduGateHub has stepped in.

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One platform for schools, tutors, students and parents

EduGateHub is a digital education marketplace and school management platform built specifically for Pakistan. It connects schools, coaching centres, tutors, teachers, students and parents inside one digital ecosystem, instead of leaving each of them to find each other through seasonal advertising and personal references.

For parents, the pitch is clarity. School discovery in Pakistan still depends heavily on banners, flyers and short term social media ads, which are expensive for institutions and hard for families to compare. EduGateHub gives institutions a permanent digital presence with structured information, so parents can discover, compare and contact schools and tutors with confidence.

For schools, the platform goes beyond a listing. It offers digital tools to manage admissions, attendance and communication, the everyday operations that most Pakistani institutions still handle manually. The idea is that a school should not need a marketing department to be visible, or a software department to be organised.

A free marketplace for used books

The platform's most distinctive feature may be its simplest. EduGateHub runs a free Used Books Marketplace where students can list, buy, sell or exchange old books at no cost. There are no commissions and no listing fees. With textbook prices climbing every year, the company argues that the book a senior student no longer needs is the cheapest book a junior student can buy, and that reuse cuts both household costs and waste.

The founder: from marble yards to code

EduGateHub's founder and chief executive, Salman Haider, did not start in technology. He began his working life in Pakistan's marble industry, where he learned sales on the ground, handled operations and imports, and dealt directly with clients. Over time he taught himself web development and went on to work on more than 90 websites and digital projects, an experience he credits with changing how he thinks about business.

What he saw, again and again, was a pattern. Pakistan has talent, ambition and millions of students, but its education institutions were struggling with manual operations, disconnected communication, paper based systems, difficult tutor discovery and unorganised student management. The sector had enormous potential and very little technological integration. EduGateHub is his answer: not another coaching app, but digital infrastructure for the whole ecosystem.

The Karachi based entrepreneur has since taken the platform to industry stages, including the Karachi International Books and Ed-Tech Fair at Expo Centre Karachi, and states the mission in one line that also serves as the company tagline: "We Want to Educate Pakistan."

Why systems, not just apps

Pakistan has seen plenty of tutoring apps and online academies. EduGateHub's bet is different. Rather than selling courses to students, it sells organisation to the institutions and discovery to the families around them. If the platform works, a small school in a small town gets the same quality of digital presence as a large chain in Karachi, and a parent searching at midnight gets verified, structured information instead of a blurry photo of a banner.

It is an ambitious claim in a country where four out of five schools have no digital device at all. But that, Haider argues, is precisely the point. The transformation has already started, and the institutions that adopt digital systems early will define what Pakistani education looks like next.

Watch: Salman Haider on the Narr podcast

Salman Haider joined Ismaeel Qasim on the Narr podcast to discuss his aspirations to fight Pakistan's education crises, why he believes technology can make education more accessible, and what it takes to build a mission driven startup in Pakistan. Watch the full conversation here: Founder EduGate Hub Talks About His Aspirations to Fight Pakistan's Education Crises, also available on YouTube. Schools, tutors and parents can find the platform at edugatehub.com.

Frequently asked questions

What is EduGateHub?

EduGateHub is a Pakistan based digital education marketplace and school management platform. It connects schools, coaching centres, tutors, teachers, students and parents on one platform, and gives institutions digital tools for admissions, attendance and communication.

Who founded EduGateHub?

EduGateHub was founded by Salman Haider, a Karachi based entrepreneur who began his career in the marble industry, taught himself web development, and worked on more than 90 websites and digital projects before building the platform.

What is the EduGateHub Used Books Marketplace?

It is a free marketplace inside EduGateHub where students can list, buy, sell or exchange used books. There are no commissions and no listing fees, and the aim is to reduce the cost of education for families.

How can a school or tutor join EduGateHub?

Schools, coaching centres and tutors can join through the EduGateHub website at edugatehub.com, where institutions can create a digital presence that parents and students can discover.

Salman Haider appeared on the Narr podcast under the Narr Founder Collaboration series.

Sources: EduGateHub (edugatehub.com), Salman Haider, "From Marble Industry to EdTech", Medium (Pakistani Startups), Pakistan Recorder launch coverage, The Express Tribune and ProPakistani reporting on the PIE Girls Education Statistics and Trends Report 2023-24, Narr podcast.