Announcing Andela’s Series B

When I first met Vivian Wu and the team from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative six months ago, they had invested in a number of great companies but had yet to lead a round. I remember being impressed both with their expansive view of the edtech world, as well as their awareness of the impact they could have on it.

This morning, I am both honored and excited to announce that Andela has closed our Series B and is Mark and Priscilla’s first lead investment through CZI. For additional context, I wanted to share a note that I sent this morning to our investors and advisors.

Dear Investors and Advisors,

Some exciting news to start your morning: Today, Andela is publicly announcing our Series B, a $24M round led by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. This marks the first time that Mark and Priscilla have led a round and we’re thrilled to welcome them, as well as GV (formerly Google Ventures), to the Andela family.

The round represents a huge vote of confidence from some of the most respected names in technology. Not only is it a vote for Andela, though, it’s also recognition of the caliber of software developers and human beings that make up the Andela Fellowship. We’re humbled to partner with folks who have helped drive some of the most impactful innovation in the history of tech, and grateful to have the financial support to continue building the movement that is Andela.

In the past two years, Andela has evolved from a crazy idea into an elite engineering organization of nearly 300 people spanning three continents. Today, Andela developers are building products for Google, Facebook and IBM, as well as dozens of fast growing venture-backed startups. In their spare time, they’re driving the growth of local and global tech ecosystems: Building apps that are trending on Github, forming organizations to empower the next generation of female developers, and speaking at tech events across the continent.

I just went back to review the article that Christine Magee, then a reporter at TechCrunch and now our head of PR, wrote about us for the Series A, and the growth is very real. Total applicants has more than doubled from 15,000 to over 40,000, we’ve launched a second country, Kenya, as well as a second US office (San Francisco just last month!) and the global team has more than doubled.

To our existing investors and advisors, ultimately what I am saying is thank you. Your support and early faith has been a critical part of this journey — we wouldn’t be where we are without you.

To our new investors: Welcome; you’re in for an adventure. We look forward to all of your insights and guidance as we work together to build the next generation of world-class technical leaders.

TIA,

J