Nexford University, the next-generation online university platform, has recently announced that it has raised $8 million in its Series A funding round.
The round was co-led by New Markets Venture Partners and Learn Capital, two leading tech venture capital firms in the United States.
Other participating investors include Learn’s Emerging Markets Fund, which is led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Bisk Ventures, Global Ventures, Future Africa, the UK-based investment firm AMK Investments, and the Future of Learning Fund.
Fadl Al Tarzi, Co-founder & CEO of Nexford University, said,
“This milestone truly goes beyond funding for Nexford. Since inception in 2019, my co-founder and I shared a vision of the world moving towards a virtual grid – one where learners with the right skills should gain access to career opportunities regardless of physical location, race, or gender.
Partnering with such stellar investors is a unique opportunity to build a platform informed by their decades of experience. With their support, Nexford will accelerate its journey to become the leading global education-to-employment platform, enabling talent from across the world to get on the global virtual grid.”
The company plans to use the fresh capital to enter into new markets, broaden its academic offerings, including career pathway programs, and enhance its technology infrastructure.
Nexford was created to deliver a 100% online next-generation university experience, specifically to deliver high-quality and affordable education to traditionally underserved English-speaking communities across the world. The tech-enabled business model enables it to deliver education efficiently without compromising on quality; the average annual tuition for a Master’s degree from Nexford costs $2,400 – a fraction of the US national average of $36,000.
With the investment, Jason Palmer, General Partner at New Markets Venture Partners, and Greg Mauro, Founder and Managing Partner at Learn Capital, have joined the board of directors of the company.
Commenting on the funding, Jason Palmer, General Partner at New Markets Venture, said,
“Nexford has built an exceptional, mobile-first, online learning platform which has the potential to democratize Masters degrees and workforce credentials across Africa, offering flexible, affordable and career-enhancing options to a rapidly upskilling global workforce.”
Greg Mauro, Managing Partner at Learn Capital, also commented,
“At Learn Capital, we have a long history of backing innovative postsecondary institutions that transform access to highly effective, career-oriented programs for learners everywhere. Nexford’s next-generation degrees enable learners across emerging markets to underwrite their own upward mobility with highly relevant degrees in cutting-edge fields. We look forward to supporting the Nexford team at this exciting juncture in the company’s geographic and programmatic growth.”
Nexford claims its AI-informed curriculum and tech-enabled platform deliver learning outcomes matching US university standards at a fraction of the cost of its competitors.
