Historically, underserved communities and financial institutions have had a sour relationship, but new fintech innovations have given this group new chances. EduPali, as one such fintech has the core objective of tackling the significant challenges posed by high education costs and limited access to education in Africa
The platform was created by FastaMoni Technologies Inc., a fintech firm with offices in Delaware, the United States, and Nigeria. It offers digital payment solutions that simplify the payment of school fees, which is advantageous to both educational institutions and students.
EduPali offers electronic payment options that simplify the payment of school fees for both students and educational institutions.
FastaMoni Technologies Inc.’s EduPali product was launched in December 2022. On March 3rd, 2023, following a lengthy period of development, it successfully introduced the product to the market.
EduPali recently achieved a significant milestone by securing the first position among nine selected startups in the esteemed MTN Y’ello DEN Pitch-A-Thon 2023.
What the Startup Offers
In Africa, the cost of education is a major barrier to consistent access to schooling, with approximately 97.5 million children out of school. Education expenses consume a significant portion of household incomes, particularly for low-income families, who may spend up to 20% of their income on education-related expenses.
EduPali offers a comprehensive solution to address the high rate of out-of-school children in Africa, starting with Nigeria. Its focus is on optimizing the payment process, ensuring affordability and flexibility for parents.
EduPali provides various payment options, including split payments for low-income families and one-off payments for families with moderate income levels. By facilitating these flexible payment options, the startup aims to increase compliance rates and enable more families to afford their children’s education.
Additionally, EduPali offers credit facilities to schools, empowering them to efficiently manage their operations and ensure smooth functioning. The platform also incorporates an AI system that enhances community engagement and helps mitigate fraudulent practices, such as cross-carpeting between schools on our platform.
Overall, EduPali expressed commitment to revolutionizing the education landscape in Africa by addressing the financial barriers to education.
Through this comprehensive solution, the startup strives to increase access to quality education and reduce the number of out-of-school children, starting in Nigeria and expanding to other African countries in the future.
Bridging an Obvious Gap
Speaking to Techeconomy, Adetola Adele, Co-Founder/CEO FastaMoni, said, “Through research and engagement with school owners, we discovered a critical market gap. Parents struggled to meet financial obligations for their children’s education, while school owners faced difficulties in collecting tuition fees effectively.
“Recognizing this issue, we developed a solution to ease the payment burden for parents and improve fee collection for school owners. Our initiative aligns with our goal of increasing access to education and reducing the number of out-of-school children, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 4.
Adele said that they are driven by the belief that every child, regardless of their background, deserves equal educational opportunities.
As payment facilitators and credit aggregators, EduPali forges partnerships between schools and financial providers, enhancing affordability and offering flexible payment options.
Competition
In the market, FastaMoni Technologies Inc. faces competition from several players, including Paystack, Paga, FlutterWave, and Credit Clan. While these competitors offer various financial management solutions, FastaMoni Technologies Inc. sets itself apart through its distinct focus on simplifying financial management for businesses and organizations, along with its specialized products tailored for education finance management.
Ayodeji David Jaiyeola, Co-Founder/COO speaking noted that EduPali specifically addresses the challenges faced by schools and parents in Africa when it comes to school fee payment compliance.
“EduPali provides a comprehensive solution that streamlines the payment process, ensuring affordability, flexibility, and efficient fee collection for schools. By targeting this unique problem in the education sector, we differentiate ourselves from general financial management platforms.”
In conclusion, the platform has been able to recognize a sizable market gap, recognizing the difficulties parents and school administrators encountered. EduPali is looking to have a revolutionary influence in Nigeria and all of Africa by offering creative solutions and placing a strong emphasis on high-quality education.
What difficulties have you encountered in launching?
During the launch of EduPali, Olugbenga Kolade Akosile, Co-Founder/CAO said that they encountered some difficulties that required careful consideration and strategic planning to overcome.
“One of the primary challenges was determining the most impactful product from our company, FastaMoni. After thorough evaluation, EduPali emerged as our flagship product due to its potential to address critical issues in the education sector.
“To successfully launch EduPali, we needed to devise effective strategies to increase its market acceptance. Our platform targets both school owners and parents, so it was crucial to demonstrate the benefits for both parties and highlight the value of automating the school fees payment and collection processes.
Convincing our target audience about the need for such automation proved to be a significant barrier.
“We encountered resistance and skepticism as we aimed to shift traditional payment methods to a digital platform. Overcoming this challenge required us to provide compelling reasons and additional benefits that would drive early adoption and showcase the advantages of using EduPali.
“In response, we added more features and benefits to strengthen our value proposition and make a persuasive case for adopting our platform. By addressing the pain points of school owners and parents, we aimed to enhance their experience and demonstrate the tangible advantages of using EduPali.
EduPali generates revenue through transaction service charges. We have a transparent and affordable pricing model, charging only 1.9% per transaction.
At present, Adetola, Ayodeji and Olugbenga, are in the process of raising their pre-seed funding round, aiming to secure a total of 500,000 USD. This funding is being sourced from angel investors as well as pre-seed to seed stage venture capitalists.
Although, they have already raised a certain amount from family, friends, and angel investors, the exact figure remains undisclosed.
In conclusion, from our discussions with the team, yes, FastaMoni Technologies Inc. has ambitious expansion plans for EduPali with its primary focus on addressing the issue of high out-of-school rates in African countries, primarily caused by the high cost of education.
