First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has partnered with PressPayNg to develop a digital platform for young Nigerians to fund their tertiary education fees through target savings, scholarships, loans, and crowdfunding. The platform is expected to help over 1,500,000 million young Nigerians in the next three years to actualise their higher education dreams with less stress.
The convenient digital platform provides a transparent process where students/parents on their own can save towards paying for school fees. In addition, individual philanthropists, corporate organisations, and multilateral agencies can fund students through scholarships and grants. Lenders, including FCMB, can also use it to provide funding and crowdfunding support to undergraduates.
The platform is a value proposition that will make higher education accessible to young Nigerians, reduce the dropout rate, and ultimately boost human capital development in the country. In addition, the student loan product will ease the financial challenges faced by parents, guardians, and families trying to provide better education for their children and wards.
Parents and students can conveniently access the value-added FCMB and PressPayNg platform by downloading the PressPayNg App from the Playstore, then register and open an FCMB Account to benefit from the array of opportunities on offer.
The Managing Director of FCMB, Mrs. Yemisi Edun, described it as the key that will unlock uninhibited access to quality education for young Nigerians from all walks of life.
She said, “We are proud to play another vital role in promoting education in Nigeria. Education is a critical resource for meeting the manpower requirement for national development. However, this resource has continued to be limited by the inability of most parents and youths to secure the necessary financial support to enrol in higher institutions and graduate successfully. As a responsive and caring institution, we are excited to partner PressPayNig to solve this difficulty by offering existing and prospective students a convenient platform and clear pathway to pursue their dreams in universities, polytechnics, and education colleges. Beyond the funding opportunities of this Tertiary Education Savings & Loans digital product, beneficiaries also have the privilege to secure holiday jobs, which will provide additional financial support and build their capacity. We are committed to helping students, parents, customers, and Nigerians succeed without any limitation”.
Also commenting on the development, the Chief Executive Officer of PressPayNg, Mr. Abiola Metilelu, said: “There is intensifying demand for expanded access to good quality tertiary education. This education savings and loan product from PressPayNg and FCMB is targeted at all levels of tertiary education in Nigeria. It will increase enrolment and retention rate, promote institutional diversification, strengthen the quality and relevance of tertiary education, and offer greater equity mechanisms to assist disadvantaged students. The corporate objective for PressPayNg is to empower the ambition of every Nigerian to become educated and flatten the curve of tertiary education dropouts by offering disruptive, innovative, and creative solutions. This partnership has given birth to a Silverbullet Solution, an idea whose time has come. Our message to parents, guardians, and students in tertiary institutions across the country is that with PressPayNg, you can dream again”.
Over the years, FCMB has reached out to over 100,000 Nigerians who desire higher education within and outside Nigeria through its Education Advisory Services. In addition, the Bank’s Education Investment Plan (EIP) product offers loan support, counselling on admission processes, facilitation of school fees remittances and discounted student airline travel packages for a child’s education abroad.
