Meet the 'Challenger' university taking on institution

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Nexford University

Last week we ‘Unbundled’ University - explored how they make money and why they aren’t necessarily the best deal for students, who walk out with debt and end up in the ‘sea of sameness.’

We also explored why Africa is where the unbundling of University will happen. The headline notes:

• The world’s future workforce will come from Africa, which will have one-quarter of the world’s under 25 population by 2030.

• The demand for quality education severely outstrips supply, and Africa’s universities can’t keep up.

Startups are seeing the opportunity in Africa’s higher education problem.

While there are a few different courses African startups will go down, today we’re taking a masterclass in one of them: Re-writing University for the Future of Work.

We’re answering the question: what does it mean to rebuild a university from the ground up - but for today (not for the 1800s).

Fortunately, this isn’t just a hypothetical. One startup is doing this - and starting in Africa.

Enter Nexford University

Now, Nexford looks and smells like a normal university. You would be forgiven for thinking it is on first interaction.

For starters, it has University in the name - usually we’d trust a name like that.

Nexford is licensed in the United States by the Higher Education Licensure Commission in Washington DC.

And Nexford offer courses you would expect at a normal university - like Masters of Business Administration (MBA).

But when you get closer, it’s actually quite different.

Nexford is actually a US-based tech startup that was founded in 2019.

Even in the tech world, that’s a new company. In the University world it’s an infant.

Let’s get to know the Founder, how he thinks about education today and how we can re-write it.

Meet Fadl Al Tarzi.

Fadl grew up in Egypt and learned firsthand how lack of education was the root of most world challenges.

After 20 years of starting and scaling companies across the MENA region, he decided education would be his next challenge and teamed up with his co-founder Mohamed Reyes to build Nexford.

But when he started he had no intention of building a University from scratch.

The original plan?

Using technology to understand employer needs, then selling that to universities to develop curriculum around those needs.

Turns out there are a few problems with that approach.

First, there is a long line of startups and tech companies trying to partner with universities. If you have ever tried selling to University you know it’s a long, slow process that isn’t fun.

Second and (most critically), it relies on university to develop a curriculum in response to employer needs. As the slow and stable businesses they are, universities weren’t in a rush to build out this curriculum.

Fadl found University too slow and too difficult to work with.

Nexford V1 lasted 60 days before he decided to go back to the drawing board.

And when thinking about how to build a solution for relevant education that gets students employed, two ideas stuck out.

Idea 1: Universities vs Micro-Credentials

Universities and Micro-Credentials have different strengths and weaknesses.

Universities are slow to react and redesign curriculum, and students don’t walk out with the skills they need to get a job. But, universities are credible and can have useful alumni networks.

Micro-credentials (courses on platforms like Udemy and Coursera) which were once hailed as the ‘future of education’ are commoditised.

While they teach skills more directly than university, there are so many micro-credentials that it’s hard to know which of them matter and if they actually tell you anything about the learner.

Idea 2: The Global Grid

The world of work is changing, and as the virtual job market grows students in emerging markets will join the global grid.

Students from all around the world are now ‘on the map’ to be employed - all they need to join the global grid is internet access, sufficient education and skills.

And where will we find the workforce of the future? Africa, which will have 25% of the world’s under 25 population and 75% internet penetration by 2030.

Fadl thinks of this as a virtual migration - a future where Africa’s workforce virtually migrates into jobs across the world because of their skills.

So when thinking about the next version of Nexford, Fadl walked away with these principles:

• Education needs to hold the credibility of a degree, through certification and with a strong alumni network.

• It should also work backwards from employers needs - teaching specific, relevant skills to students so they have the best chance of getting a job.

• Learners shouldn’t need to choose between skills and credentials - they should be able to get both under one roof, and at the same time.

• It should be built around the workforce of the future - learners in emerging markets, particularly Africa.

Realising the best way to build this was starting from scratch, Nexford became a university.

The way Nexford is structured lets students from anywhere in the world gain a US-Accredited MBA for as low as $3,000 USD

This is the most affordable MBA you can receive in the US - the national average is $60,000.

And they do this without compromising on learning quality.

Re-designing the learning experience

And Nexford hasn’t just restructured pricing and credibility. They have re-designed university for the modern day in a way that’s flexible, relevant and affordable.

Relevant

While traditional university makes you choose a program to commit to for 3-5 years, Nexford is structured a bit differently - you can think of it as a supermarket.

You pick which credentials you want and “stack” them up to become a degree that’s both useful and relevant to your field.

Nexford’s courses are focused on the intersection of business and technology - where Nexford sees the world going.

And those subjects are reverse-engineered from what employers are actually looking for.

Instead of Civil Litigation Practise (forced on me at Law School), try subjects on E-Commerce or Artificial Intelligence & Automation.

Affordable

Nexford is structured in a way that’s affordable for the world’s workforce.

Instead of a lump sum per semester studied, they put education on a flexible monthly payment model for each month spent learning.

Price adjusts depending on where you are from, and this means that the faster you finish (and sooner you graduate) the less you need to pay for your degree.

Flexible

Nexford is flexibly-paced, but with collaborative assignments and projects that reflect real work.

It takes as long or as little as you want it to, with no in-person attendance required. Which means you can actually fit it around your life and work.

If you want to round out your MBA in a year you can, or split it over 5? That’s fine too.

So in theory it all sounds great - but how are the students going?

Ready to take on the world

Last year Nexford ran a survey with their graduates to understand their progress and experience studying.

What they found?

• 98% would recommend Nexford to a friend.

• 90% feel very well or extremely well prepared for their current job (from their Nexford degree).

Onyinye Udoye studied with Nexford University from Nigeria, specialising in AI and Automation, and landed a role at Microsoft as a Business Analyst Specialist.

His manager, Rebecca, is based in Seattle and loves working with Onyinye - citing how great he is to work with and his and sharing that she would definitely hire another Nexford graduate.

And Onyinye would learn with Nexford again - based on how practical and relevant he found the program.

It’s an example of the ‘Global Grid’ in practise. Onyinye can be based in Nigeria, land a job at Microsoft and be a stand-out team member.

The key? High quality, relevant education.

Julia Moffett, Managing Partner at the Future of Learning Fund and early Nexford investor calls Nexford a ‘Challenger University’ – a new type of university that is innovating the old models.

‘As learners question value for money of higher education and its ability to get you a job, challenger universities are showing up everywhere in the world.

Nexford is re-imagining higher education and is on its way to becoming a major challenger university in Africa where the demand couldn’t be greater.’

Nexford University is re-writing university from scratch to create an institution that fits the 21st century - and lets the future of global talent (Africa’s workforce) tap into the global grid.

I'll leave you with one more story from Precious - a reader of Tech Safari - hot off the press.

What do you think of Nexford's mission and impact? Let me know (and join the conversation) here on LinkedIn.

And that's a wrap! If you're missing our Tech Round Up today hold on tight for Saturday for all the news in African tech this week.

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Catch you soon!

👋🏾 Caleb