Leaders in education, finance, and technology have rallied behind innovative school financing solutions, highlighting their role in improving access, accountability, and sustainability in Uganda’s education sector and across Africa.
Speaking at an education financing symposium organized by School Pay, Tineyi Mawocha, Chief Programme Officer and Africa Regional Director at Opportunity International, warned of Africa’s deepening education crisis.
He noted that more than 61 million children in Africa remain out of school, while millions more attend classes without acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills.
“The pandemic worsened an already dire situation. Today, nearly 70 percent of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read a simple story by the time they complete primary school,” Mawocha said.
Despite governments allocating up to 20 percent of national budgets to education, financing gaps remain due to low tax revenues and fiscal constraints.
Mawocha explained how Opportunity International has partnered with over 200 financial institutions in 32 countries, unlocking more than US$1 billion for education through products such as school improvement loans and school fee loans.
These products, he said, have enabled schools to expand infrastructure, hire qualified teachers, and helped parents manage tuition costs, thereby reducing dropouts.
He also highlighted partnerships such as Furaha, developed with Standard Chartered Ventures, which now allows six million children in Uganda to have their fees paid digitally through telco wallets.
“To build a resilient education value chain, we must mobilize blended finance, scale proven models, and prioritize inclusion for girls, refugees, children with disabilities, and those in rural areas,” he emphasized.
Juliet Atuhaire Muzoora, Commissioner for Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education and Sports, praised School Pay a digital school fees payment platform for transforming accountability and financial management in schools.
“As a school leader, I experienced firsthand how School Pay simplified fees collection and reduced risks. Parents can now wire money directly into school accounts and even manage children’s pocket money through electronic wristbands,” she said. “This has not only improved transparency but is also teaching learners financial discipline and savings culture.”
Muzoora urged fintechs and banks to extend such digital innovations beyond tuition fees to monitor government grants such as the capitation grant.
“With technology, we can track funds more transparently, reduce paperwork, and enhance accountability,” she added, while also calling for flexible payment plans to ensure no child is denied education due to installment delays.
Joseph Ndiho Kiiza, Board Chair of Fincom, described School Pay as more than a fees platform, calling it “a value chain system” that connects parents, schools, banks, telecoms, suppliers, and policy makers.
“We envision a single source of truth for education data, from financing to teacher attendance and student performance, which can shape critical policy decisions,” he said.
Kiiza emphasized that partnerships with telecoms like MTN and Airtel, as well as banks and Opportunity International, have enabled School Pay to expand across Uganda and into other African countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia.
The symposium underscored the urgent need for innovative financing to sustain education amidst rising costs, inequality, and shocks such as COVID-19.