The Series A round was co-led by New Markets Venture Partners and Learn Capital, two prominent edtech venture capital firms in the U.S. New Markets Venture Partners and Learn Capital will join the board.
Affordability and relevance gaps in education are being filled by the tech-enabled startup. As the traditional university experience hasn't changed in many years, edtechs likeNexford arepioneering a paradigm shift in higher education that puts learners first and gives them the skills to succeed in the future.
Learners can study at their own pace at the university. When learners apply for a degree or a course program, they choose how fast or slow the program should be. Nigeria is a traditionally underserved English speaking community. The only market where the U.S.-based edtech has learning community spaces is in West Africa. The company plans to open such centers in other countries.
The same programs are offered by the university. Business administration, advanced artificial intelligence, e- commerce, hyperconnectivity, and world business courses are programs for graduate degrees. In a recent interview with TechCrunch, CEO Al Tarzi said his company plans to add more programs, such as software engineering, data science, clean energy, business analytics, digital marketing and project management.
The chief executive said that the company plans to launch several pathway programs, six-month programs designed to equip learners with the skills they need to get specific jobs across five vertical areas.
He said that the pathway programs would stack into the degree programs. He said that if you complete the pathway program, you will be able to continue and get a master's degree. You can come back a few months later if you have a job. The pathway will give you the skills you need to go to college.
CEO Fadl al Tarzi.
The stackability factor is one of the ways thatNexford differs from traditional institutions. He said that conventional universities in the U.S. can charge as much as three times or four times more for the pathway programs. The average annual tuition for a master's degree in the U.S. is about $36,000, but Nexford's accredited degrees cost between $3,000 to $4,000.
The edtech platforms should prioritize outcomes. The measurement of outcomes has changed in the three years thatNexford has existed. Learning outcomes are measured by placement. Getting a promotion, increased salary, and real-life application of courses in growing a business as anentrepreneur is just one of three things thatNexford has.
One of the most fundamental developments we have had is that we have a lot more learner data now and outcomes data that gives us higher confidence that our alumni are succeeding after graduation. In our most recent survey, we saw that almost all of them did that.
The edtech platform would like to become profitable. According to Al Tarzi,Nexford has positive margins due to a 2x revenue in 2021, and an increase in the number of countries from 70 to 90.
Nexford University lands $10.8M pre-Series A to scale its flexible remote learning platform
The pre-Series A round was announced in June of last year. It appears to be a down round; however, Al Tarzi disagrees, saying the company's Series A valuation is relatively higher than its last raise.
The Learn's Emerging Markets Fund, which is anchored by the International Finance Corporation, is one of the participating investors.
According to a statement, proceeds will be used to take it into new markets, broaden the company's academic offerings, and improve its technology infrastructure. We will keep investing in product and geographical expansion. The CEO said that they wouldn't need to increase their tuition fees because of the latter's efficiency. The decrease in customer retention costs last year was due to operational efficiency enabled by technology. We will continue to invest in technology to increase efficiency and keep learner's tuition fees current.
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