Prodigy Finance secures $750m to finance international student loans
Prodigy Finance has secured $750m in funding to support postgraduate education through providing cross-border student loans.
The company provides financing to international students who would not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue postgraduate qualifications.
A funding deal with CPP investments will allow the scheme to support students in additional countries including China, Bangladesh and Chile, after applications grew by 50 per cent in 2020.
Joel Frisch, Head of Global Acquisition at Prodigy Finance, said, “we have always believed that talent is borderless and finance should be too, so we’re thrilled to now be able to support students from all these additional countries.
“In total we can now help students from over 120 countries worldwide and want to keep being a leader in helping global talent achieve its true potential,”
Since launching Prodigy Finance has provided over $1bn in loans to more than 20,000 high-potential students.
The latest investment comes on top of a $250m facility agreed last year with America’s development bank, the US International Development Finance Corporation, which partners with the private sector to finance solutions to critical challenges facing the developing world today. The funds will underpin loans to postgraduate students who are women or from lower income countries.
The news comes as applications from international students dropped sharply last year as a result of travel issues caused by the pandemic. Last year enrolments from international students declined by 43 per cent in the US.
Read more: UK popularity among international students is at risk, says study