Prodigy Finance
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| Industry | Financial |
|---|---|
| Founded | August 2007 in London, United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
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Key people
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Cameron Stevens, founder and CEO |
| Services | International loans for MBAs and postgraduate students; Blended value investments for qualified investors. |
| Website | prodigyfinance |
Prodigy Finance is a platform that enables financing for international postgraduate students who attend a participating business school or postgraduate institution, whilst delivering financial and social returns to alumni, institutional and private investors.
This borderless model enables educational loan financing to international students from across the globe, whilst using predicted post-degree affordability rather than present-day salary. Since 2007, Prodigy Finance has disbursed over US$140 million (as of May 2016) through the platform to fund students from 115 nationalities, with repayment rates in excess of 99%. Prodigy Finance is registered in London with offices in London and Cape Town.
Prodigy Finance started with a peer-to-peer funding programme for INSEAD students, where alumni invested money into a fund which enabled students to carry out their MBA studies at that institution. Leveraging this peer-to-peer lending, Prodigy Finance began by offering loans to MBA candidates enrolled at other leading European business schools.
In 2014, Prodigy Finance announced the launch of a US$25 million Education Note in partnership with the Credit Suisse Impact Investing and Microfinance team. The Education Note has a focus on students from emerging markets, enabling them to study at top postgraduate programmes.
In 2015, Prodigy Finance announced a $12.5 million equity investment from Balderton Capital and various angel investors and $110 million in loan capital from Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and other private investors.
In 2016, Prodigy Finance was included in the European FinTech 50 and was listed by City A.M on the Leap 100
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Three INSEAD MBA graduates conceptualized Prodigy Finance during their studies in 2006, as their experience highlighted an opportunity to bridge the financing gap often experienced by high-potential international postgraduate students looking to attend a top school. Prodigy Finance was founded in 2007 with the intention of addressing this challenge, as Prodigy Finance Founder Cameron Stevens experienced himself. The Prodigy concept was recognised at the 2006 International Venture Capital Investment Competition at INSEAD, resulting in the initial seed money for the company.
More than half of MBA and other postgraduate students have a need for funding, but many banks don’t lend internationally. Some traditional banks can’t price foreign risk, while others can’t track borrowers across borders
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