More than 100,000 Ugandan children have benefited from school fees financing through Furaha’s School Fees Loan, highlighting the growing role of digital financial services in helping families manage education costs.
The milestone comes as families across Uganda continue to navigate the financial demands of keeping children in school, particularly at the beginning of school terms when school fees and other education-related expenses often fall due at the same time.
The School Fees Loan was developed to help parents manage these financial gaps by providing access to financing when school fees are due, with repayments spread over time. Behind the service is a partnership between Furaha, a fintech incubated by SC Ventures, and MTN MoMo. Furaha provides the lending technology and expertise, while MTN MoMo makes the financing accessible through its mobile money platform, with funds paid directly to the children's schools.
For Hannington Bwire, whose child attends Lisa Junior School in Ssonde, the value of that access became clear as the examination period approached. Although he had already paid a significant portion of his child's school fees, he still needed to clear the outstanding balance before his child could sit for exams.
“It reached a point when I had paid at least 75% and I needed to clear the balance towards the exams period. I looked around but I couldn’t get the money required, and yet it was needed urgently. I tried the process and the money went through to the school immediately. I knew my child was going to do exams the next day,” he said.
Through the School Fees Loan, parents like Hannington can access between Shs 200,000 and Shs 3,500,000 to pay school fees for up to four children, with repayments spread over three months, in line with the length of a school term.
To qualify, applicants must be Ugandan residents with a National ID, an active MTN MoMo wallet and a good borrowing and repayment history. Parents can access the loan by dialing 16580#, through the MTN MoMo App or the Furaha App.
Commenting on the milestone, Phrase Lubega, Managing Director at MTN MoMo, said the partnership demonstrates the practical impact of digital financial services when they are designed around the everyday needs of customers.
“This milestone demonstrates the power of partnerships in making digital financial services more accessible and relevant to Ugandans. Through MTN MoMo, parents can access school fees financing conveniently when they need it, helping them manage temporary financial gaps without interrupting their children’s education,” he said.
“Reaching 100,000 children is significant, but more importantly, it represents thousands of families who have been able to keep their children in school because they could access financing at the right time.”
Furaha CEO Dennis Musinguzi said the milestone reflects the importance of providing financing that responds to the timing of families' financial needs.
“Behind the 100,000 are parents who were determined not to let a question of timing interrupt their children’s education. We started Furaha with a simple conviction: a temporary cash-flow gap should not become a permanent interruption to a child’s learning," he said.
"This milestone shows what is possible when financing is designed around a real need in people’s lives. It is an important achievement, but it also shows us the scale of the opportunity still ahead."
Building on the milestone, Furaha and MTN MoMo aim to help keep one million Ugandan children in school over the next two years. The partnership will continue to combine Furaha's lending technology, including customer onboarding, credit scoring, disbursement and collections, with MTN MoMo's reach to extend access to school fees financing to more families.
