Furaha, a Uganda-focused education financing platform, says its school fees financing services have supported parents in keeping 100,000 children in school since the company began operations in 2024.
The milestone comes as many Ugandan households continue to face financial pressure at the start of each school term, when tuition and other education-related expenses often become due before families receive their expected income.
According to Furaha, its financing model is designed to help parents meet short-term school fee obligations and avoid disruptions to their children’s education.
The challenge extends beyond tuition. Families also have to cater for uniforms, scholastic materials, meals and other school requirements. A 2025 UNICEF report cited financial constraints among the leading reasons for school non-attendance and dropout.
An analysis of Ministry of Education and Sports data further illustrates the scale of the education retention challenge. Of the estimated 1.9 million children who entered Primary One in 2012, about 142,000 from the same cohort subsequently registered for Senior Six examinations.
Furaha says it is seeking to address part of the financing gap by connecting families to short-term education loans through partner financial institutions.
The company was incubated by SC Ventures and provides its partner institutions with technology and expertise covering customer onboarding and know-your-customer processes, alternative-data credit assessment, loan disbursement and collections.
Its Ugandan partners include Diamond Trust Bank Uganda, Cairo Bank Uganda, Opportunity Bank and FINCA Uganda.
Furaha Chief Executive Officer Dennis Musinguzi said the 100,000-child milestone reflects the efforts of parents who continue to prioritise their children’s education despite financial constraints.
“When we launched, our goal was simple: that no child in Uganda should be sent home because fees fell due before the money came in,” Musinguzi said.
“Reaching 100,000 children has happened faster than we imagined, and this milestone belongs to Ugandan parents. Term after term, they have shown that when finance is built around how they earn, they meet their commitments,” he added.
Furaha’s network has expanded since its launch in Uganda with Opportunity Bank and SchoolPay. The company says it has subsequently partnered with institutions and organisations including Cairo Bank Uganda, Diamond Trust Bank Uganda, SurePay and the National Private Education Institutions Association of Uganda.
According to Furaha, its financing services are now available to parents with children in more than 7,000 schools across the country.
Sanjay Rughani, Board Chair of Furaha, said the company’s model was developed around the idea of using financial services to address specific social and economic needs.
“Furaha was founded on the belief that finance should serve a purpose, and there are few purposes more important than a child’s education,” Rughani said.
The company has set a longer-term target of helping one million children remain in school by 2028. It plans to expand its network of schools and financial-sector partners as it seeks to increase access to education financing across Uganda.
While school fees financing can help families manage short-term cash-flow challenges, the broader issue of school retention remains linked to household income, education costs and other barriers that affect children’s ability to remain in school.
