Kampala, Uganda – February 6, 2025: In a bold step towards financial inclusion and accessible education, Service Cops Limited and Furaha Finserve Uganda Limited have announced a strategic partnership to revolutionise school fees financing in Uganda.
The new Furaha School Fees Loan, integrated with School Pay, aims to ease the burden of tuition payments by offering affordable and flexible financing options to parents.
This collaboration combines Furaha Finserve’s expertise in technology built for purpose-based financing with School Pay’s innovation, digital payments experience, and commitment to education to create a seamless, user-friendly product for education financing.
“This partnership represents a significant step forward in our mission to make quality education accessible to all,” said Mathias Kamugasho, Service Cops Managing Director. “Together, we’re changing the lives of many parents, students, and education providers.”
Speaking at the launch event at 1 Kololo Hill Drive, Kampala, Dennis Musinguzi, CEO of Furaha Finserve, emphasised the life-changing impact of this partnership on Ugandan families.
“In our society, education is the foundation for growth and success. Yet, many parents struggle to keep their children in school due to financial constraints. This partnership is about providing a solution—one that ensures no child is left behind due to lack of school fees,” Musinguzi stated.
He further highlighted the role of technology in streamlining financial access, noting that Furaha’s financing model is purpose-built, meaning the funds go directly to schools, eliminating misuse and ensuring students stay in class.
Key Features of the Furaha School Fees Loan
Musinguzi said parents and guardians will benefit from low-interest education loans tailored to fit various financial capacities, a simplified and fully digital loan application process, eliminating paperwork and long wait times and real-time direct payments to schools, ensuring instant clearance of tuition fees.
Other benefits include; flexible repayment terms of up to 90 days, allowing parents to manage their finances without disruption and integration with over 14,000 schools already using the School Pay platform.
Transforming Education Financing in Uganda
Furaha Finserve Founder, Ian Fernandes, expanded on the company’s vision, underscoring the long-term economic benefits of accessible education financing.
“Every additional year of schooling can increase an individual’s earning potential by 10%. Unfortunately, financial barriers force many children to drop out of school before reaching secondary or higher education. With this initiative, we want to change that reality,” Fernandes said.
He further revealed that Furaha’s mission is to enable 10 million children across Africa to access quality education over the next five years, calling on stakeholders to support and expand financial inclusion in the education sector.
The Role of School Pay in Digital Transformation
School Pay, a leading digital payment platform in Uganda, has been instrumental in modernizing school fees payment systems. Through its partnerships with over 20 banks, School Pay has eliminated long queues, cash payments, and inefficiencies that previously plagued school fees transactions.
SchoolPay General Manager, Osbert Muganga, celebrated the launch, calling it a milestone in ensuring uninterrupted education for Ugandan children.
“We have come a long way from the days when parents had to line up at banks for hours to pay school fees. With Furaha’s financing, we are taking this progress even further—now parents who don’t have funds upfront can still ensure their children get an education,” Muganga said.
Charity Atukwatsa, CEO of School Pay, echoed these sentiments, emphasising how this partnership directly addresses one of the biggest challenges in Uganda’s education sector—affordability.
“We managed to solve the issue of making school fees payments seamless and digital. But there’s a bigger issue—many parents simply cannot afford to pay fees on time. That’s where Furaha comes in. We are glad to be a driver of this initiative, ensuring that financial difficulties no longer disrupt children’s education,” Atukwatsa said.
Bridging the Education Gap and Expanding Across Africa
The partnership is not just limited to Uganda—both Service Cops and Furaha Finserve plan to expand the initiative into Tanzania, Zambia, and other African markets, ensuring millions of students have uninterrupted access to education.
“We are proud to pioneer this initiative in Uganda, but our goal is to expand and impact the entire continent. Education financing should not be a privilege—it should be accessible to all,” Fernandes concluded.
How to Apply for the Furaha School Fees Loan
Parents and guardians can apply for the Furaha School Fees Loan through the following steps: register on the School Pay platform and select a participating school, fill out a digital loan application via Furaha Finserve’s online system, receive approval within minutes, with the funds directly sent to the selected school and repay the loan flexibly over 90 days.