In line with its commitment to driving Africa’s sustainable growth, Standard Bank Group is proud to announce its new partnership with Prodigy Finance, which will deliver funding to top African scholars looking to advance their careers through postgraduate studies at some of the world’s leading institutions.
Prodigy Finance is a global higher education finance company that provides flexible student funding to international postgraduate students. The company has enabled over 40,000 students from 150 countries to advance their careers at over 1,500 leading institutions. This has been made possible through the provision of over USD 2 billion in student loans for postgraduate studies.
Their success stems from an understanding of the income transformation that a wide range of courses at eligible universities can offer select students. The ability of Standard Bank to assist in enhancing their business model is key.
Standard Bank will advance USD 22 million as a senior revolving credit facility to an asset-backed funding structure that specifically targets students from Africa. This funding transaction demonstrates Standard Bank’s commitment to postgraduate education for the African market. It provides a valuable opportunity for the bank to establish a relationship with Prodigy Finance as they expand and grow across the African continent.
This Africa-specific structure, known as the African Boost Programme, has been structured in conjunction with Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies, which will provide a subordinated first loss tranche in the form of grant funding.
This funding will provide much-needed support to students intending to pursue postgraduate studies abroad. All proceeds of the facility will be used to underwrite new loans to African students, in addition to the grant provided by Allan & 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.
