Higher education is a safety net in advanced and emerging countries alike. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has torn the net apart for many and revealed gaping inequities. Demand for overseas education remains high, reaching over 5 million according to the OECD, yet many students are unable to go abroad due to a range of barriers, with affordability being the most significant challenge.
In the US, for example, international students are not typically eligible for US-based student loans. Nor are they eligible for financial aid. The result is a loss-loss situation: talented students are denied access and the US is also denied the many economic development benefits international students bring when they step onto campuses and into communities. In 2021, international students contributed $28 billion to the US economy.
The solution is an overhaul of the student loan system. By infusing fintech into educational lending, lenders can make credit decisions using a forward-looking model centered on students’ extraordinary potential rather than the traditional backward-looking model that requires an established credit history, collateral or a cosigner – all the barriers to financing international students typically face.
In this session, a leader from MPOWER and an international higher education expert will discuss how MPOWER’s fintech-based lending model is expanding the U.S. and Canadian higher education market to serve more of the world’s highest-potential individuals.
