Standard Bank provides Prodigy Finance with USD 24 million funding to support African students' global ambitions

Prodigy Finance is a company that successfully provides flexible student funding to international postgraduate students. The company has enabled over 39 000 students from 120 countries to advance their careers at over 1 700 leading institutions. This has been made possible through the provision of over USD 2 billion in student loans for postgraduate studies.

A significant talent pool exists within emerging market countries, yet financial barriers often prevent this talent from pursuing tertiary degrees at prestigious international institutions. Over the past 15 years, Prodigy Finance’s unique and innovative business model has succeeded due to its understanding the income transformation that an array of courses at the world’s leading institutions can offer.

Standard Bank, together with Prodigy Finance in collaboration with Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropies, developed a first-of-its-kind asset-backed funding structure called the African Boost Programme, which is designed to specifically provide funding for postgraduate students from Africa. The structure includes USD 22 million funding from Standard Bank, while Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropies will be providing a subordinated first loss tranche in the form of grant funding. All the proceeds of the facility will be used to underwrite new loans to African students, in addition to the grant provided by Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropies. The revolving nature of the facility means that collections from loans previously sold into the SPV will be used to acquire additional loans from Prodigy Finance for as long as the revolving period remains available.

Forecasts indicate that an additional 164 million African graduates will seek postgraduate qualifications between 2020 and 2050. Standard Bank’s partnership with Prodigy Finance will enable the company to harness this increasing demand for funding and enable African students to access educational opportunities that will enrich their lives. Postgraduate study empowers African graduates to become agents of change that bring world-class expertise and fresh perspectives to the challenges facing the continent.

Education is a cornerstone for delivering growth and social upliftment, and our partnership with Prodigy Finance has allowed us to make a significant contribution towards investing in African talent. We look forward to continuing to support Prodigy Finance as they expand and grow on the African continent and are proud to partner with them and Allan and Gill Gray Philanthropies to assist them in achieving their social development goals.