8B Education Investments, a fintech lender to African students attending global universities, announced the close of 8B's $3M seed round. Impellent Ventures' David Brown and Tariq Trotter joined the Board.

In addition to Trotter and Brown joining its Board of Directors, 8B's investors in the round include New York Ventures, a division of Empire State Developments, and Trueventures.org, the social impact initiative launched by venture capital firm True Ventures. The round also includes 11 experienced investors and operators in the education, finance, and impact ecosystems, including Debra Fine of Fine Capital Partners, Seavest Investment Group CEO Rick Segal, Amplify CEO Larry Berger, and Bryan Meehan, former CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee.

8B Education Investments has built a pioneering platform to connect high-potential African students with world-class colleges and universities, a financing marketplace to research scholarships and compare loan financing options; and a career support function to enable students to realize their highest potential.