Name
8B Education Investments
ASV First Invested
December 2021
Status
Active
Location
Dundee, NY
Industry
Higher Education Finance
Team
Dr. Lydiah Kemunto Bosire – Founder & CEO
Bill Hubert – Director of Strategy & Operations
8B Education Investments is a financial technology company focused on the African education market, creating the world's first end-to-end platform to assist African students, from the moment they seek acceptance at universities in the US and UK until they secure their first job upon graduation.
The company primarily is a student loan provider for African university students seeking to study abroad, a market opportunity of more than $1B. In addition to providing financial capital, 8B connects students from the Africa diaspora with scholarships, mentorship, and guidance on additional external financing options.
The Opportunity
8B is the first fintech social enterprise specialized in lending to African students to attend world-class global universities. 8B is convinced that Africa must deliver shared prosperity to its youthful population; to do so, African nations require a deep bench of highly educated ecosystem-builders who are equipped to participate, compete, and thrive in the knowledge economy of the 21st century.
Students on the African continent currently face a ~$25 billion financing gap for attending universities outside of Africa. Additionally, the African continent has the youngest population in the world and the growth of African students studying abroad is predicted to outpace other demographics. Higher education loan companies exist, but currently loans to foreign students at a rate often 2 times that of local students that make attending school abroad unrealistic.