Prodigy Finance, a specialist in postgraduate student lending, has raised over USD100 million from Credit Suisse, Balderton Capital and others, including institutional investors, and also private investors such as Ed Wray, the entrepreneur and angel investor.
The new investment will allow Prodigy Finance – which helps students fund their attendance at the world’s top business schools – to support more students in their studies, while delivering financial and social benefits to investors.
Prodigy Finance is a globally-accessible platform that provides funding to international postgraduate students attending top-ranked business schools (Financial Times Top 100), while also delivering competitive financial returns to institutional and private investors (including alumni). Prodigy Finance’s platform enables future leaders from around the world to overcome funding constraints and achieve their true potential, delivering this broad social benefit alongside financial returns for investors.
Cameron Stevens (pictured), Prodigy Finance CEO and co-founder, says: “Since the financial crisis, international students have found it near-impossible to access funding for their degrees. This is partly because conventional lenders have difficulties assessing the cross-border risks, while also suffering from a lack of systems to monitor repayments internationally. Additionally, there are limited investment products available for investors which deliver both competitive financial as well as social benefits.”
Since 2007, Prodigy Finance has processed over USD130 million through the platform to fund over 2050 students from 92 nationalities, with repayment rates in excess of 99%. With offices in London and Cape Town, and plans to extend into Asia in 2016, Prodigy Finance has tripled its staff complement over the last 2 years.
With projected growth rates in excess of 400% for 2015, Prodigy Finance is challenging a conventional investment mindset by providing investment products which focus on the development of human capital. Alumni, private and institutional investors alike are recognizing the benefits of an investment bond that delivers both a competitive financial return and also supports future leaders looking to differentiate themselves through higher education.
Stevens says: “This very significant investment from Credit Suisse, Balderton Capital, and others such as Ed Wray, clearly demonstrates that not only is there strong demand for investment opportunities that combine a clear social purpose with competitive financial returns, but that our investors share our vision to invest in future leaders. Having access to both Balderton and Ed provides us with invaluable insights from tech savvy investors who have learned so much through their many successes.”
Tim Bunting, Balderton General Partner, adds: “Cameron and his team have created a global execution platform that gives investors the opportunity to fund international students in a meritocratic fashion that positively challenges the status quo. This is a huge win for the students.”
