Key Highlights
- Nigerian students are considering leaving the country to pursue their undergraduate or graduate degrees abroad due to the higher standard of education, better living standards, and advanced career opportunities overseas. However, studying abroad can be costly, and only a few students can afford it.
- Finding financial aid options for international students anywhere in the world can be challenging. Therefore, some companies provide international student loans to Nigerians, such as the Education Advisory Service, Mpower Finance, Future Finance, Lendwise, and Prodigy Finance.
- Each of these loan providers has its unique features, eligibility requirements, and loan terms. For example, some loans have fixed interest rates, grace periods, and repayment vacations. Additionally, each loan provider only offers services in specific regions or fields of study, such as the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and Ireland, or business, public policy, law, medicine, science, and technology.
- Presently, most of the Nigerian students plan to leave the country to further their education. A certain allure comes with earning your undergraduate or graduate degree overseas.
Additionally, it provides a higher standard of education than those with university degrees/masters from Nigeria, giving you a competitive advantage.
In addition, due to Nigeria’s high unemployment rate, you benefit from a better education, a higher standard of living, and more advanced career opportunities. However, achieving this goal can be expensive, and only some students can afford to study overseas.
The availability of student loans is one of the most crucial elements to consider when deciding where to study abroad. However, not all nations provide this chance. Finding loan opportunities for international students anywhere in the world can be difficult.
If you are a student from Nigeria considering studying abroad, you should think about all the financial aid options available to you. You should diligently search for scholarships and make sure your application is thorough.
You can also ask friends and relatives for help raising money. You can also start setting money aside in advance for your study abroad program. However, some businesses provide international student loans to Nigerians when these options seem insufficient or unavailable.
Here are the following study-abroad loans for Nigerian students
The Education Advisory Service
A great resource for Nigerians to get overseas student loans is the Education Advisory Service (EAS). The EAS is a collaboration between a reputable organization, First City Monument Bank, and MOD Group.
The MOD hub offers eligible students advice, help with admissions, and other facilities like lodging, travel arrangements, and airport concierge services. The applicant’s tuition, living costs, and other out-of-country study-related expenses are all covered by the EAS loan. Keep in mind that the bank will pay all of these expenses to the institution of your choice.
The EAS loan covers only the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. Only First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is authorized to offer the loan.
Mpower Finance
Mpower Finance is a company that enables students to pursue higher education overseas regardless of their financial situation. The money borrowed can be used to pay for tuition, books, meal plans, housing, and health insurance associated with education.
The cost of tuition can be covered by financing for students attending accredited universities in the US and Canada. Nigerian students are eligible to borrow up to $100,000 ($50,000 each academic year) in total, starting with as low as $2,001.
Additionally, this loan’s recipients will pay fixed interest rates for the duration of their studies. By enabling automatic loan repayment through their bank accounts, they can get a one-time 0.25 percent decrease in their interest rates.
Students will also make interest-only loan payback payments prior to graduation. In addition, these students will be given a six-month grace period before a ten-year repayment term begins upon graduation.
Future Finance
Future Finance is a loan provider that aims to free up money for students to travel and study abroad. Although the business no longer accepts loan applications from new and existing clients, it has gotten a lot of great feedback. Students may apply for up to two three-month payment breaks during the loan period, and Future Finance loans are repayable over seven or ten years.
UK-based Future Finance gave Asset Link Capital legal and beneficial title to the loan arrangements involving its clients in November. Additionally, you can borrow between £2,000 and £60,000 with a loan term of 7 to 10 years if you want to study in the UK.
The loans are only available for students who wish to do so. You can apply quickly online and get a response as soon as possible. Following the approval of your loan, the funds will be sent directly to your university to pay for tuition as well as to you to cover living expenses.
Following graduation, you can pay back as little as £5 per month for the remainder of your studies and for up to three months. The remaining loan balance can then be repaid for up to 10 years with the option of two three-month repayment vacations.
Lendwise
Lendwise might be the best option if you’re trying to figure out how to pay for your graduate degree. The organization assists students, mainly Nigerians, who want to pay for their education at prestigious universities.
The Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom oversees Lendwise, which has its headquarters there. Any full-time student authorized to borrow money through Lendwise will have access to a grace period that will allow them to repay the loan after graduation.
It’s noteworthy that Lendwise’s interest rates are both competitive and fixed for the whole term of the loan. But that depends on the applicant’s overall profile. The application procedure is also simple because it is completed online.
Prodigy Finance
Prodigy Finance is a financial company that offers student loans, even without collateral or a co-applicant, assisting students in realizing their ambitions of studying abroad. Prodigy Finance’s loans will pay for all of your educational expenses.
As a result, all costs—including tuition, living expenses, and a caution/building/refundable deposit—are fully covered. Students can begin making payments on their Prodigy student loans six months after their college course has concluded, and the loan’s payback period can last up to 20 years.
You must enrol in a school and take an approved course to be qualified for a Prodigy Finance loan. Additionally, the institution only offers services in the fields of business, public policy, law, medicine, science, and technology.