Without proper education, the opportunities to reach the full length of one’s potential becomes limited. In order to escape this limitation, many people find ways to bring their dreams of getting a higher education come to reality. One way of doing that is by taking a loan.
Eduloan has gained such popularity that it continues to generate inquiries within South Africa as many people seek loans in order to fund their education. In this post, I gave details on Eduloan now Fundi Student loans: how it works, what to expect, and how to go about the process of getting a loan from them, including how to repay the loan.
Let us now break it down one after the other:
What Is Fundi Student Loans (Eduloan)?
Eduloan is now Fundi. This company was started in 1996 and has the goal of helping to turn the dreams of needy students who want to gain a higher education into reality by providing the money they need for their education as a loan which they will later pay back with a small interest so as to sustain the company’s operations.
This company provides money for students to fund their undergraduate studies as well as postgraduate courses and MBAs. The company also provides funding for professional short courses to help one move up in his career of choice.
How does Fundi Student Loan Work?
Fundi provides the funds for all expenses directly related to your education. The company is a private establishment and so in order to remain active in business, it prioritises repayments of all loans given. However, Fundi has been making a huge difference in South African society; the company has already made a huge difference in the lives of about 800 000 people, and their families.
In order to get a Fundi student loan, you need to fill in an online application. You go to the company website www.fundi.co.za and navigate to apply for a loan. This is a short and straightforward application form that needs your basic information such as your name, your e-mail address, your cell phone number and that also requires you to write a short message informing Fundi what type of loan you want to apply for. After Fundi has processed your information, they will get back to you and you will have to provide them with certain documents for them to decide if they accept your request or not.
Fundi gives out these loans in an unsecured manner. What that means is that you don’t need to provide anything as collateral. But that does not mean that the company will issue loans if they do not feel that their money can be recovered. After you’ve been accepted to the scheme, and your loan has been approved, Fundi will pay directly to the institutions on your behalf. This reduces downtime and also eliminates the risk of money getting lost or stolen.
The company will require someone to stand as your guarantor or principal debtor. That person will make the repayments preferably by debit orders through the bank account with which he receives his salary.
What does the Fundi Loan Cover?
Fundi does not do half-measures; the company takes care of all your educational needs. With Fundi, you can rest assured that everything that amounts to money related to your education will be sorted out. We are talking about your tuition fees, accommodation, recommended books, reading material, devices such as computers, uniforms, and anything else.
Fundi Student Loan Requirements
As we mentioned before, Fundi loans are unsecured loans. Therefore, you are not required to put down any property as collateral. All they want is for you to assure them that you will repay the loan. That is why the company requires that either the student or one of your parents should have a permanent job. In the case of part-time students, it is usually the students themselves that are required to have jobs, while in the case of funding for full-time studies it is usually required that the parents be employed.
Furthermore, the employed signee for the loan should not be under credit review; that means you have to be in good standing as regards your credit history.
Because this company only provides loan facilities for South African citizens, you will be required to provide a copy (certified) of your South African ID; as well as a letter from your employer just to confirm that you work for them.
Then you (or your signee) need to provide your last receipt of salary, as well as your latest bank statements.
How Can I Apply For Fundi Student Loan?
You may have been trying to find Eduloan but to no avail. That is because Eduloan has been rebranded to Fundi. That change became effective since October 2016.
Therefore, what you need to do to get a loan from Fundi (formerly Eduloan) is to go to their website: www.fundi.co.za and click on apply.
The website and form are very easy to navigate. Just follow the instructions as you are given online. Remember to have all the documents ready as we described above in the requirements section. If you experience any difficulty while trying to register then you can contact fundi via the following information:
Telephone Contact: 0860 55 55 44
Email Contact: [email protected]
How does one repay back the money of the student loan?
Your sponsor or signee will have to pay back the loan plus a very small interest each month. While other lenders may give you the option of deferring payments until after graduation, Fundi does not have the luxury of waiting that long to get back the money. This is because the company needs the money in circulation so that it can make loans available to other students as well.
Therefore, your sponsor will have to pay the loan while you are studying. The sponsor can make an arrangement with his employer so that the money is paid back in monthly installments directly from the employer, or a debit order can be made with his or her bank so that the money can be debited from the bank in small installments until cleared up.
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Conclusion:
It is certainly worth the trouble getting a loan to fund education. However, one must be careful so as to ensure that one does not get into debt, especially as it now seems very convenient to just take a loan with the click of a mouse. Loans must not be abused; they should be the last resort, and only taken out when beneficial. We hope that the information has been useful, and will help you attain success in your educational pursuits.