Microverse raises $12.5m Series A funding
Microverse raises $12.5m Series A funding
Microverse, a rapidly growing Edtech startup, has announced a $12.5 million Series A funding round. Northzone, a global technology venture capital firm, led the round, alongside previous investors General Catalyst and All Iron Ventures. It was also attended by business angels and leading startups from Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
Microverse teaches people, particularly those in developing countries, how to code through a collaborative, cohort-based learning model that prepares them for workplace efficiency.
Ariel Camus, a serial entrepreneur who sold his first company, TouristEye, to Lonely Planet, founded the startup in 2018. TouristEye is a mobile application that enables users to gather destinations and activities for the purpose of planning trips and weekend getaways.
According to Ariel, the raise further validates the company's growth and impact prospects. He stated that the fund will enable his team to continue scaling their offerings, strengthening their team, and meeting the company's soaring demand.
Ariel stated that he anticipates the school's enrollment to triple within the next 18 months. The platform currently has over 1,000 full-time students from 118 different countries. Around 75% of the population is made up of African and Latin American students. Additionally, he noted that Microverse now receives an average of 10,000 new applications per month from approximately 200 countries.
Ariel Camus stated in response to the raise, "It makes no sense that the place you are born determines your life opportunities." Microverse's mission is to educate the world's untapped talent and to connect them with companies in desperate need of digital talent. This investment comes at a critical time, when demand for coding education from prospective students and companies seeking global talent has never been greater.”
It's unsurprising that demand for Microverse's offering is increasing in emerging economies. The remote work culture and the significant increase in demand for talent across borders are significant consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Numerous young people, particularly in Africa and Latin America, seek foreign employment as sweeteners to dwindling domestic economic realities.
Microverse's model is geared toward distributed teams and remote work, as evidenced by the fact that 92 percent of job offers received by its students are for remote positions. Additionally, the learning process has been designed to assist students in acquiring the soft skills necessary for remote work in addition to technical skills.
Ariel explained to me that under the guidance of experienced mentors, students learn full-time from one another in real-world work situations. “Students graduate work-ready, having received individualized career coaching, support, and exposure to cross-cultural collaboration,” he explained.
“So far, the results have been fantastic,” he told me, noting that 95 percent of their graduates land jobs within six months of graduation and earn an average salary increase of 240 percent.
Microverse has already placed over 300 graduates with leading technology companies such as Microsoft, VMware, Globant, and Huawei.
More Interesting Facts
Microverse is the only school in the world to offer an Income Share Agreement (ISA) with students from every country. How does it function?
Microverse does not require students to pay any upfront fees. They are only required to pay when they are compensated. And that will occur once they earn a minimum of $1,000 USD per month. They will repay 15% of their income up to a maximum of $15,000. This means that Microverse will invest in their success in order for them to succeed.
Ariel informed me that this model has aided in the elimination of barriers to obtaining a world-class education. Many students from low-income families are unable to pay these fees in full up front.
This appears to be a popular strategy with investors as well. Michiel Kotting, Northzone's General Partner, made reference to this when discussing the investment.
Courses and Certification
Mobile Computing Course and Certificate
Mobile Development Course and Certificate
Adaptive Software Development Course and Certificate
Software Architecture Design Course and Certificate
