Higher Education Students' Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB)

What Higher Education Students' Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB) does

The Higher Education Students' Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB) is a government statutory body established by Act of Parliament No. 2 of 2015, headquartered in Lilongwe, Malawi, with a mandate to provide loans and grants to financially needy and academically deserving Malawian students pursuing higher education at accredited public and private institutions. The organization operates a portfolio of four core products — Tuition Loans, Upkeep Loans, Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) Loans, and Student Grants — with an Equipment Loans product planned for the 2025/26 financial year. All loan lifecycle activity (application, screening, disbursement, employer-based repayment deduction under Section 29 of the HESLGB Act, and recovery) is administered through the Student Financing Management Information System (SFMIS), supplemented by a mobile application launched in May 2024 and an Employer Portal.

HESLGB's economic model is a government-backed revolving fund: it is capitalized by annual fiscal appropriations from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (the loan fund grew to K36 billion from K30.5 billion in 2024/25) and sustained by recoveries from former beneficiaries, which reached a record MK1.24 billion. Since its 1998 predecessor scheme, the organization has cumulatively supported 634,200 student beneficiaries and disbursed K25 billion in loans, with 28,882 students supported in 2024/25 and a 32,000-student target set for 2025/26. The current upkeep allowance of K560,000 per annum (raised 60% in April 2024) translates to K70,000 per month over a four-month semester.

HESLGB functions as a single-buyer monopsony for government-backed higher education financing in Malawi, with a distribution network spanning more than 30 accredited universities and colleges (UNIMA, MUBAS, MUST, LUANAR, MZUNI, KUHES) and a partnership with the World Bank's Skills for a Vibrant Economy (SAVE) Project that has financed nearly 5,000 ODeL students in priority sectors but is set to conclude after 2025/2026. Governance is exercised by a Board of Directors (chaired by Dr Patrick Andrew Makina) overseeing an Acting Executive Director (Dr Patrick Mphepo), with the institution ranked top among parastatals by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (95% compliance) and rated 93% compliant by PPDA in 2023/24.

Name

Higher Education Students' Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB)

Legal name

Higher Education Students' Loans and Grants Board

Website

https://heslgb.mw

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Higher Education Students' Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB) is a Malawi government statutory body that administers tuition, upkeep, ODeL, and student grants loans to 28,882+ financially needy higher education students annually through its SFMIS platform, funded by fiscal appropriations and revolving loan recoveries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Loan and Grant Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Collection Agencies (561440)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141), Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Billing, Invoicing & Account Statements (EDALAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Payments, Cashiering & Payment Plans (EDALAJAE)

Keywords

• Student loan financing
• Higher education grants
• Tuition loans
• Student financial aid
• Education loan recovery

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HESLGB is a Malawian government statutory body that provides tuition loans, upkeep (living allowance) loans, Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) loans, and non-repayable student grants to financially needy and academically deserving students at accredited public and private higher education institutions in Malawi. Loan origination, processing, disbursement tracking, and repayment management are operated through the Student Financing Management Information System (SFMIS) online platform and a companion mobile app, with employer-facilitated salary deductions used to recover mature loans.

Product overview

HESLGB is a government entity mandated to provide financing to students in higher education in Malawi. The organization offers a portfolio of four main products: Tuition Loans, Upkeep Loans, Open Distance e-Learning (ODL) Loans, and Student Grants. All loan services are managed through the Student Financing Management Information System (SFMIS), a comprehensive online platform that handles loan applications, processing, disbursement tracking, and repayment management. The organization also provides separate portals for students and employers, with equipment loans planned for future rollout.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tuition Loans Loan facility that covers tuition fees for needy Malawian students admitted into NCHE-accredited higher education institutions, with funds disbursed directly to the receiving university or college.
• Upkeep Loans Living allowance loan provided to students in public institutions of higher learning to cover accommodation, food, and other daily expenses. Disbursed at K560,000 per annum to eligible public-university students.
• Open Distance e-Learning (ODeL) Loans Loans covering tuition and upkeep for students studying in Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) mode at public universities, with priority given to study areas of Education, Health, Agriculture, Energy, ICT, and Industry.
• Student Grants Non-repayable grant awards given to academically outstanding students pursuing higher education in accredited institutions, providing financial support without repayment obligations.
• Student Financing Management Information System (SFMIS) Online platform used by students to apply for HESLGB loans, track application status, download affidavits and supporting documents, and manage their loan accounts, and used by HESLGB for processing, disbursement tracking, and loan repayment management.
• HESLGB Mobile App Mobile phone application for iOS and Android that allows students to apply for HESLGB loans, manage their loan applications, and access loan services directly from their mobile devices.
• Employer Portal Online portal that allows employers to report HESLGB loan beneficiaries and facilitate salary deductions for loan repayments, fulfilling employer obligations under Section 29 of the HESLGB Act.

Quantifiable outcome

• 634,200 student beneficiaries have been supported
• +4 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Council for Higher Education (NCHE)coreOthersHESLGB works with NCHE to verify student admission and institution accreditation. Students must be selected or admitted through NCHE-accredited institutions.
• National Registration Bureau (NRB)coreOthersHESLGB requires students to have National IDs from the NRB. Students with name mismatches must resolve them with NRB before applying.
• Women Lawyers AssociationminorOthersWomen Lawyers Association partnered with HESLGB to commission affidavits free of charge for loan applicants.
• Malawi Law SocietyminorOthersMalawi Law Society partnered with HESLGB to commission affidavits free of charge for loan applicants.
• Credit Reference BureaucoreOthersThe Minister of Finance approved HESLGB as an information provider to the credit reporting system, enabling loan recovery through credit history tracking.
• Accredited Higher Education Institutions (Public and Private)coreOthersHESLGB works with over 30 accredited public and private universities and colleges including UNIMA, MUBAS, MUST, LUANAR, MZUNI, KUHES, and private institutions to process and disburse loans.
• Ministry of Higher Education, Science and TechnologycoreOthersThe Ministry oversees and funds HESLGB's operations, with the Minister urging HESLGB to offer loans to all eligible students.
• Ministry of Finance and Economic AffairscoreOthersThe Ministry sets funding levels and reviews upkeep loan amounts. Approved a K3.8 billion increase for the upkeep loan adjustment.
• Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA)minorOthersPPDA rates HESLGB at 93% compliance in procurement proceedings for the 2023/2024 period, indicating good governance practices.
• Association of African Higher Education Financing Agencies (AAHEFA)minorOthersHESLGB's Executive Director was elected Vice President of AAHEFA, a continental entity established in 2008 to unite institutions across Africa involved in providing loans, bursaries, grants, and scholarships to higher education students.

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tanzania Higher Education Students' Loans Board (HESLB): Tanzania's counterpart student loans board with overlapping product structure (tuition and upkeep loans) and similar employer-based recovery regime. Nearest analogue by name and operating model among Malawi's immediate neighbors.
• Federal Student Aid (FSA) - U.S. Department of Education: U.S. federal student aid office that originates, services, and collects on Title IV student loans. Direct peer on mission (government-backed higher-education financing) and useful as a benchmark for product breadth, servicing technology, and default-management practices.
• Student Loans Company (SLC) - United Kingdom: UK government non-departmental public body that administers student finance for higher education, including repayment via employer PAYE deduction. Direct peer in mission and operating model, with a much larger scale for benchmarking purposes.
• Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund): Ghana's statutory education financing vehicle providing scholarships and student support. Comparable mandate in West Africa; useful peer for assessing funding-base diversification beyond pure student lending.
• Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) - Kenya: Kenya's statutory student financing body, providing tuition and upkeep loans plus scholarship administration to public university students. Operates a similar revolving-fund and employer-checkoff model and is the closest functional peer to HESLGB within East Africa.
• National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) - South Africa: South Africa's government student loan and bursary scheme, the most direct regional analogue to HESLGB in mandate, beneficiaries, and product mix (tuition, living allowance, and grants for needy students). Comparable in scale ambition and regulatory context.
• Uganda's Higher Education Students' Financing Board (HESFB): Ugandan statutory body funding higher-education students via loans and scholarships. Direct peer with similar product mix and a comparable reliance on development-partner financing for capacity expansion.

Emerging players

• Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND): Recently established Nigerian student loan body with comparable student-loan mandate. Emerging peer that is building digital servicing infrastructure analogous to HESLGB's SFMIS and serves as a benchmark for product design on the continent.

Regional players

• Rwanda Education Board - Loans and Scholarships: Rwanda's government-managed education financing arm in charge of student loans and scholarships. Comparable in mandate and continental context though structured under a broader education regulator rather than as a standalone loans board.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HESLGB1
• Facebookfacebook.com/HESLGBOFFICIALPAGE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/higher-education-students-loans-and-grants-board-heslgb

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Higher Education Students' Loans and Grants Board (HESLGB)