The First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has partnered with PressPayNg to launch a tertiary education support solution platform aimed at bridging the gap between students in universities and polytechnics and their financial challenges.
Yemisi Edun, managing director/chief executive officer of FCMB, at a media briefing held on Wednesday in Lagos, described education as critical to meeting the human capacity requirement of national development.
According to her, millions of undergraduates face the challenges of inadequate funding for their education in Nigeria.
“So this solution developed by FCMB and PressPayNg serves as a platform for target-based individuals for loans, scholarships, crowd money among other benefits. It is expected to help over 1.5 million young Nigerians in the next three years to actualise their tertiary education dreams,” she said.
“In addition, the platform provides a transparent system where parents and guardians on their own can save towards the education of their children.”
According to Edun, the platform is tailored to make higher education accessible to young Nigerians who ordinarily are limited financially in their tertiary education quest.
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“The FCMB/PressPayNg education support solution platform is meant to restore the dreams of young Nigeria undergraduates whose education dreams might have been dashed. You can dream again with the FCMB-PressPayNg App,” Abiola Metilelu, chief executive officer of PressPayNg, said.
According to him, the platform gives students access to up to 50 percent of their tuition as student loans from the firm, while the student contributes the other 50 percent with flexible savings plans.
Other co-partners of the initiative are Cornerstone Insurance Plc, and Jobberman, among others.
Metilelu said 18 percent of tertiary education students drop out of school every year due to financial challenges.
He said the idea of the app was borne out of his personal experience while in the university. He said he suffered a delay in his tertiary education calendar because he was not able to meet up with the tuition fees as when due.
