Chancen International Set to Expand Access to Skills & Economic Opportunity for 60,000 Youth through its Fair Financing Model

Chancen International, the pioneering social enterprise that finances a student’s education against future earning potential rather than family wealth or credit history, is expanding its fair finance model across Africa. The company — already operating in Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana — is targeting 60,000 students and $130 million in student financing deployed by 2029, up from 10,000 students financed to date.

When the company launched, critics said lending to young people from low-income households would never work. The repayment rate now sits above 95%. Backed by $30 million raised from approximately 20 impact investors, Chancen International is doubling down on its fair finance model and expanding across existing and new markets at a moment when the case for market-based education financing is becoming harder to dismiss.

Aid retreats; market models advance

The timing of the expansion is not coincidental. Global development aid budgets are tightening, and USAID cuts have accelerated the shift away from grant-based youth workforce programs. Concessional financing, long the backbone of skills development across sub-Saharan Africa, is becoming harder to access precisely as the continent’s youth population grows. Chancen International’s outcomes-based financing model, which invests in young people’s potential and takes an equity stake in their future earnings, fits directly into that gap.

“This is not charity; this is a sustainable, market-based financing solution that can deliver high impact at scale,” says Batya Blankers, Co-Founder and CEO of Chancen International.

Outcomes first, credit history never

Government student financing schemes exist across several African countries, but they restrict what students can study and rely on assessments that exclude most young people from low-income households. Chancen International underwrites differently. Before a single student enrolls, the company evaluates the employment and income trajectory of each partner education institution’s graduates. Repayment begins only once a graduate has a job and a stable income. This model works across a range of courses, from boot camp and vocational programs through to bachelor-level degrees, and has generated income increases of up to three times the national median for Chancen graduates.

“Traditional financial institutions rely on credit history, family background, or guarantees. We evaluate future earning potential instead. That means we can finance students from households earning as little as two dollars per day,” says Batya Blankers.

Who the model reaches

More than 60% of the 10,000+ students financed to date are women, by design rather than accident. Chancen International prioritizes financing for women and builds product features that address the barriers they most commonly face. It removes the collateral requirement that often locks women out of education financing, allows repayment pauses in cases of hardship or unpaid maternity leave, and factors potential “baby breaks” into its algorithm and ISA terms. Wraparound services— training, networking, and job boards— then support the transition into employment. The results follow: 93% of employed female graduates earn above the minimum wage, and 88% maintain strong repayment standings. The company reaches students through radio campaigns, community halls, churches, and local organizations, with 80%+ of its current student base coming from rural areas.

The demand exceeds what the company can currently supply. Its existing pipeline covers only around half of the applicants. With investors across the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Singapore— including relationships through UBS’s Optimus Foundation network— the expansion to 60,000 students is intended to bridge that gap while establishing this outcomes-based education financing model as a recognized asset class that local financial institutions can eventually adopt and market at scale.

About Chancen International

Chancen International is a fair finance platform financing young Africans into tertiary education based on future earning potential, not existing wealth or credit history. Students repay only once employed and earning a stable income. With 10,000+ students financed across Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana, and $30 million raised from around 20 impact investors, Chancen is scaling to 60,000 students and $130 million raised by 2029.

Learn more about Chancen International at chancen.international.