The greatest thing about a human life is how you can always make it so much better. This dynamic, in particular, has allowed us to hit upon some huge milestones, with technology appearing as a major part of the stated group. The reason why technology gets to enjoy such a significant place in our lives is largely inspired by its outright unprecedented skill-set. However, the whole runner is also, at the same time, predicated upon the manner in which we used those skills. The latter component was, in fact, what gave the creation a spectrum-wide presence, and consequentially, started a tech revolution. The stated revolution will go on to scale up our lives in every possible regard, but even after achieving such a monumental feat, it will somehow keep on bringing the right goods to the table. This pattern has only grown more and more evident over the recent past, and one recent funding does a lot to make it stronger moving forward.
U.S.-based online university platform, Nexford University has successfully secured over $8 million in Series A financing. Led by New Markets Venture Partners and Learn Capital, the round saw further participation coming from the likes of Learn’s Emerging Markets Fund anchored by International Finance Corporation (IFC), Bisk Ventures, Global Ventures, Future Africa, the U.K.-based investment firm AMK Investments, and the Future of Learning Fund. According to certain reports, the university will use the newly-raised cash to enter new markets, while also expanding its academic offerings to include more career pathway programs. Apart from it, Nexford also plans to dedicate a chunk of the funds towards improving its in-house technology infrastructure. Founded in 2019, the edtech platform has focused extensively upon closing the affordability and relevance gaps in education. Talk about what courses you can study through Nexford, the university ventures into a ton of territories such as business administration, AI and automation, business analytics and product management; business administration, advanced AI, e-commerce, hyperconnectivity, sustainability etc. In case that wasn’t enough, the platform is very much poised to add more disciplines over the next six to twelve months.
This intention to add more leads us back to Nexford’s ambitious plan of ramping up the focus on career pathway programs, which are going to be a six-month arrangement, designed to equip learners with the skills they need to get specific jobs across different sectors. When quizzed regarding these programs, Nexford’s CEO and co-founder, Al Tarzi hinted that they are going to be a big part of the company’s future.
“The pathway programs are also going to stack into our degree programs,” he said. “So what that means is, when you complete the pathway program, if you want to continue and earn a master’s or a bachelor’s degree, you’ll be able to do that. But if you’ve got a job and want to come back a few months later, you’d also be able to do that. So the pathway will give you the skills you need and a certain percentage towards a formal college degree.”
Surely, we know where Nexford is headed on a granular level, but from an overall standpoint, it will continue to offer a brand of education that is outright modern, and yet accessible for various underserved communities.