Stanbic Bank and FinCom Technologies have launched Uganda’s first fully digital school lending platform, enabling private schools to access instant, cashflow-aligned financing through the SchoolPay system.
FinCom Technologies, creators of the SchoolPay platform launched the country’s first fully digital lending solution for schools recently, offering private education institutions instant access to pre-scored, cashflow-aligned financing through a platform they already use to manage tuition fees.
Speaking at the launch, Tunde Thorpe, Executive Head of Business & Commercial Banking at Stanbic Bank Uganda, highlighted the initiative’s strategic importance.
“For nearly two years during the Covid-19 shutdown, Uganda’s schools faced unprecedented financial strain. Many are still recovering. This partnership allows us to extend credit in a way that is simple, digital, and aligned with the real cashflow patterns of schools,” he said.
The initiative is a major step in modernising education finance, an area long constrained by manual processes, slow credit assessments, and the financial shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The SchoolPay platform currently serves over 15,000 schools, processing more than half of all private-sector tuition payments in Uganda.
With the new integration, Stanbic Bank becomes the first financial institution to embed credit functionality directly into the platform, strengthening its leadership in education banking.
The new digital solution enables schools to access financing of up to UGX 1 billion without visiting a branch, monitor loan status in real time, and bypass the delays typical of traditional paper-based processes. For headteachers and proprietors, this shift represents a move from slow, manual lending workflows to an immediate, transparent, and predictable system.
“By leveraging technology to increase access to affordable finance, we are strengthening the very institutions that shape the country’s future,” Thorpe added.
Technology as a Financial Equalizer
Joseph Ndiho, Board Chairman of FinCom Technologies, emphasized the partnership’s potential to address structural challenges in education finance. “Together with Stanbic Bank, we are making credit more accessible, fully digital, and aligned with the day-to-day realities of school operations,” Ndiho said. He added that digitising school finance improves visibility, reduces leakages, and supports long-term planning, benefiting thousands of teachers, support staff, and local suppliers.
Harriet Senkaali, Commissioner for Private Schools & Institutions at the Ministry of Education, welcomed the innovation.
“Digital tools like SchoolPay have improved financial transparency in our schools. Integrating affordable, timely credit onto the same platform is a natural and welcome progression. We commend Stanbic Bank and SchoolPay for providing solutions that support better learning environments and institutional stability,” she said.
Senkaali also reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to advancing digital transformation in private education, which serves a substantial share of Uganda’s learners.
Driving Positive Impact Through Education Finance
The partnership aligns with Stanbic Bank’s Positive Impact Framework, which integrates financial inclusion, enterprise development, infrastructure investment, climate resilience, and social investment into its strategy.
By enabling schools to upgrade classrooms, expand ICT facilities, improve sanitation, or stabilise budgets, the initiative strengthens the country’s human capital and supports long-term national development.
Celebrating 35 years in Uganda, Stanbic Bank reaffirmed its commitment to prioritising sectors critical to national competitiveness.
“Education remains one of the most vital engines of inclusive development and economic resilience,” Thorpe noted.
This first-of-its-kind digital lending platform is set to redefine education finance in Uganda, giving schools the tools to manage cashflows efficiently while accessing timely, affordable credit—an innovation experts say could be a game-changer for the sector.
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