US university completes funding round led by UAE’s Global Ventures

US university completes funding round led by UAE’s Global Ventures

DUBAI: Washington DC-based Nexford University has completed a $10.8 million Pre-Series A funding round, led by UAE-based venture capital (VC) firm Global Ventures. Nexford is a tech-enabled online university, which focuses on making education accessible despite the students' physical location. Other participating investors included Future Africa's education fund, as well as angel investors, family offices and other VC firms from the US, UK, France, Dubai, Switzerland, Qatar, Nigeria, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. The university will use the proceeds for its expansion plans in Asia, and to improve its offerings. "Learners want high-quality, yet affordable education relevant to today's business environment, whilst retaining the flexibility remote learning provides,“ the university CEO Fadl Al-Tarzi said. He added: "Now, with additional funding, we can invest in the technology and teams required to address these challenges.“ Nextford recorded a 300 percent increase in revenue in 2020 with learners enrolling from over 65 countries. It has formed partnerships with tech giants Microsoft, LinkedIn and IBM.