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How Prodigy Finance Helped Fund My MBA At London Business School

When the economic situation threatened Amelia Martinez’s dream of completing her MBA, she looked to alternative loans provider Prodigy Finance

Determined to boost her business skills and gain more international exposure, Argentinian Amelia Martinez decided to pursue an MBA at London Business School (LBS).

Coming from a developing country with high levels of inflation and currency fluctuations, she faced many hurdles funding her MBA, particularly when new government restrictions were imposed preventing her from taking money out of her country to pay for the last instalment of her tuition.

With a Prodigy Finance loan however, she was able to pay for and complete her degree. Having completed her MBA at LBS, she’s since gone on to work for the company that helped her do it.

Founded by three INSEAD MBAs who experienced the difficulties of financing an international degree first-hand, Prodigy Finance was created to help people with issues just like Amelia’s, and prevent finance being a barrier to top-class education.

Prodigy Finance’s borderless, peer-to-peer lending model gives international MBA and master’s students – from 118 countries worldwide – access to the loans they need to study abroad.

Was funding a concern for you when deciding to pursue an MBA?

Yes, I had to work for many years to save money to be able to fulfil my dream of studying an MBA abroad.

I remember I would go to the schools’ webpages and would see the cost of tuition and think: how am I going to get all that money? But that never stopped me. I knew that it could take me longer to save the money, but I was determined to do it. Of course, I would also look for scholarships and I applied for many of them.

Finally, when I received my offer, my school also offered me a partial scholarship, which was a huge help. However, just when I thought I had everything ready to do my MBA, more devaluation and more restrictions took place.

How did Prodigy Finance help?

When new government restrictions meant I couldn’t take money out of my country to pay for the last instalment of my tuition, the dream for which I had worked so hard for was suddenly in jeopardy.

Immediately, I went to talk to the Financial Aid department in my school to find a solution and they recommended that I talk to Prodigy Finance.

I went to Prodigy’s webpage and completed my application, having no faith in international financial institutions given my previous experience. I had already been rejected by other financial institutions that were requesting incredible levels of savings and assets to grant me a loan.

In just three weeks, everything was sorted. I had my loan and the school received the money directly. Just like that. I remember I was so happy the day I found out I had received a loan from Prodigy!

The process was very practical and I was amazed when I was told I had to sign the documents online.  It seemed like science fiction in real life! Having the loan was such a relief, I remember the interaction with the team (now my colleagues) and they were so quick to respond and friendly. How can something so complex be so simple and amicable?

Prodigy Finance changed my life and gave me the opportunity to finalize my studies.

Why is a full-time MBA a worthwhile investment?

The MBA is not just about classes, homework, professors and books. It is about seeing the world with a more comprehensive perspective, about opening up new doors and about making new lifelong friends.

Having the opportunity to learn from the best professors and, most of all, from classmates, super people with so much professional and life experience is mind-blowing and unique! A true privilege. The MBA helps you grow not only as a professional, but mainly, as a person and as a leader.

What funding advice do you have for prospective MBA students?

Doing an MBA needs commitment from many aspects of your life, one is financial. For this reason, do not just rely on one source of funding. Save as much as you can. Seek family support if they’re able to help.

Apply for scholarships, not only the ones offered by the school. Go out and search for other options since there are hundreds of institutions offering scholarships. Talk to your employer to see if they can support you with a sponsorship (even if it is only partial).

If that is not enough, engage in a long term financial commitment through a loan. The day you finish paying for it, you will feel a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

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