US-based online university platform Nexford University has raised $8 million in a series one round led by New Markets Venture Partners and Learn Capital, two prominent edtech venture capital firms that have invested in Pathstream, Udemy and Coursera in the United States. Jason Palmer, general partner of New Markets Venture Partners, and Greg Morrow, managing partner of Learn Capital, will join Nexford’s board.
A tech-enabled startup, launched by Fadl Al Tarzi In the year In 2019, it is filling educational capacity and eligibility gaps. The university’s traditional practice of edtechs like Nexford as a pioneer in higher education, putting students first and enabling them to succeed now and in the future, has not changed.
Nexford University offers fully online education to students and allows them to learn at their own pace. Once students apply and get into a degree or course program, they choose how fast or slow they want the program to be. Nexford’s most important markets are traditionally underserved English-speaking communities such as Nigeria. The West African nation is the only market where the US-based edtech has community learning spaces that help students overcome infrastructure challenges like internet and transportation. The company plans to open such centers in markets such as Kenya and the Philippines.
Nexford University offers the same programs as last year. Bachelor’s degrees include courses in business administration, AI and automation, business analytics and product management. Business management, advanced AI, e-commerce, hyperconnectivity, sustainability and global business courses are for graduate programs. In a recent interview with TechCrunch, CEO Al Tarzi said his company plans to add programs such as software engineering, data science, clean energy, business analytics, digital marketing and project management over the next six to twelve months based on demand. Students.
The CEO also mentioned that Nexford is offering several transfer programs – six-month programs designed to equip students with the skills they need to find specific jobs in five vertical fields – to complement its degree programs.
“The transfer programs are going to be stacked into our degree programs as well,” he said. “So this means that when you complete the pathway program, if you want to go on and get a master’s degree or a bachelor’s degree, you can do that,” he said. “But if you get a job and want to come back after a few months, you can do that. So the path will give you the skills you need and a certain percentage towards a regular college degree.
CEO Fadl Al Tarzi
This overlap is one of the many ways Nexford differentiates itself from traditional institutions, Al Tarzi said. He also appreciates the platform’s day-to-day academic support and affordability, adding that typical universities in the US can charge three or four times the price of Nexford for pathways programs. For example, Nexford-accredited degrees cost between $3,000 and $4,000 (paid in monthly installments), but the average annual fee for a master’s degree in the US is $36,000.
Edtech platforms should prioritize results, regardless of cost and unique selling proposition. And in Nexford’s three years there, the metrics have changed. Many traditional and new edtech startups measure learning outcomes through assignments. For Nexford, it’s just one of three, including getting a promotion and a salary increase and the real-life application of courses to grow a business as an entrepreneur.
“One of the most fundamental advances we’ve made is that we now have a lot of student data and results data,” the CEO said.
Internally, the edtech platform seeks to improve operations while remaining profitable. According to Al Tarzi, Nexford It’s running positive margins on the back of 2x revenue in 2021 compared to last year, and subscriptions have grown from 70 countries to 90+ this year.
Last June, the three-year startup announced a pre-series round of $10.8 million. It seems round down; But Al Tarzi disagreed, saying the company’s Series A price was relatively high compared to its last raise and attributed the decrease in funding to a “highly oversubscribed and extended” pre-Series A.
Investors participating in the Series A round include the International Finance Corporation (Infrastructure) Educated Emerging Markets Fund.IFC), Bisk Ventures, Global Ventures, Future Africa, UK-based investment firm AMK Investments and Future Learning Fund.
Nexford, in a statement, said the proceeds will go into new markets, enhance the company’s academic offerings, including career path programs, and enhance its technology infrastructure. “We will continue to invest in product and geographic expansion and technology, the latter of which allows us to operate as efficiently as we do, so we don’t need to increase tuition,” said the CEO. We will continue to invest in technology to increase and keep student tuition current.
