Partner Sites


Logo BusinessBecause - The business school voice
mobile search icon

FinTech: Prodigy Finance Is Helping MBA Students From Developing Countries Study Abroad

Many aspiring MBAs would not be able to fund their studies without the tuition crowdfunder's international post-graduate loans

Wed Apr 27 2016

BusinessBecause
For aspiring MBA students, funding is often of primary concern. 60% of post-graduate students need funding but many banks refuse to lend across borders, leaving students from developing countries with limited options.

In steps Prodigy Finance, a pioneering crowdfunding platform which provides high-potential MBA and business masters students with international post-graduate loans. To date, Prodigy Finance has processed more than $140 million in loans, funding over 4000 students of 112 different nationalities. Its repayment rate is in excess of 99%.

“I would not have been able to realize my MBA dreams abroad without the Prodigy loan,” says Aditya Tripathi, an Indian MBA student at Oxford Saïd Business School in the UK.

After several years working in technical IT roles for finance firms in Mumbai, Aditya was keen to transition into technology consulting and take his career to the international stage with an MBA degree. Yet sources of funding in India were limited. Interest rates were high and loan providers capped the amount they would make available.

“Prodigy's product was far friendlier and more flexible than the other options available to me,” he says. “They offered me full tuition support and their interest rates were about two-thirds of what banks in India were offering.”

Founded by three INSEAD MBA graduates, the financial technology - fintech - firm’s borderless, peer-to-peer lending model connects a global community of private investors and business school alumni with students at the world’s top tier business schools.

adityatrip

Aditya (pictured right) joins a 95% international student body on the prestigious Oxford Saïd MBA program. For him, applying for a Prodigy loan was a no brainer: the friendly terms and friendly overall experience made the platform stand out from traditional providers.

“They don't make you ‘feel’ like they are giving you a loan,” he says.

Moreblessings Sekenhamo, a second year MBA student at Chicago Booth School of Business (pictured below), agrees. Although he was granted a scholarship to study at Booth, he needed additional funding in order to help cover the costs of living abroad. Yet as a Zimbabwean national - a country subject to US economic sanctions - securing a loan proved problematic.

“I heard a lot of no’s,” he says. “I was knocking on every door and contacting every company in the MBA financing business.

moreblessingss

“When I contacted Prodigy, they were much more accommodating and much more willing to consider my circumstances and consider my application on an individual basis.”

Within a matter of days, Moreblessing’s loan application had been approved, leaving him impressed by the platform’s inclusivity and willingness to listen and adapt to students’ needs.

“I definitely recommend it and I continue to highlight it to my classmates,” he says. “It creates a sense of community. And it’s a program that I want to be involved with in the future, as an investor.”

Without Prodigy Finance’s community-based model, some of the world’s brightest talents would be unable to fund their MBAs, simply because of their country of origin.

timo-marquez

Timo Marquez (pictured right) has a strong and illustrious background in the energy industry. He’s worked in cross-continent consulting, he’s started his own energy efficient construction business and he’s directed programs on energy efficiency at a national Chilean university.

Yet as a Venezuelan, there are few funding options available for him: government restrictions prohibit him from getting loans in foreign currency.

“Prodigy Finance was the only option,” he says. “The communication, the experience, everything was smooth.”

Now, he’s realizing his dreams, studying an MBA at HEC Paris in France and looking to impact the management of energy globally. “It’s never too late to embark on new adventures,” he says.

Prodigy Finance Ltd is an appointed representative of BriceAmery Capital Limited which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This document has been issued by BriceAmery Capital Limited as a Financial Promotion under Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

 

 

RECAPTHA :

0e

bb

4c

88