Thanks to the innovative efforts of a few youngsters, there is now a novel way to finance your way through university.
Co-founded by undergraduates from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and National University of Singapore (NUS), Skolafund is a recent online start-up that aims to help as many people as possible to obtain higher education. Following in the footsteps of large funding platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the Malaysia-based Internet Mobile Projects Accelerator (Impact) start-up enables deserving students, particularly those who aren’t well-off or who have failed to attain scholarships, to raise tuition fees through crowdfunding.
Tengku Ahmad Syamil, who comes from Singapore, is a co-founder of Skolafund and currently an undergraduate at IIUM. Describing himself as someone who actively seeks to enhance his entrepreneurial skills through social efforts, he laments the fact that funding is never not an issue. Such a scenario unfortunately applies in today’s education too. “There are plenty of students who work hard but it is a pity how not all are lucky enough to receive an education,” says Syamil.
What further prompted him to start Skolafund was a posting on Facebook by a student from his university. “He is a rather diligent student who comes from a low income family; he shared that he was lacking funds to pay his tuition fee as both of his parents were ill. Already a part-time worker himself, he then asked if there were any other alternatives available or scholarships he could apply for,” says Syamil. “And interestingly enough, instead of suggesting ways, people in the community willingly offered to transfer small amounts of money into the student’s bank account.”
