HELSB Seeks Private Investment in Student Loans

The Higher Education Loans and Scholarships Board (HELSB) has issued a passionate call to commercial banks, pension funds, and insurance institutions to inject vital private capital into Zambia's higher education financing ecosystem. Addressing stakeholders at the Zambia Capital Market Conference and Awards in Livingstone, HELSB Chief Executive Officer Dr. John Machayi revealed that approximately 45.3 percent of student financing requests went unmet during the previous academic year due to severe budgetary constraints. This funding shortfall underscores an urgent structural deficit as demand for tertiary education surges across the country. While annual government disbursements have grown significantly—scaling from about K558 million in 2021 to K1.8 billion in 2025, with the loan portfolio expanding past K10 billion—public resources alone remain insufficient to satisfy national requirements. Dr. Machayi stressed that broadening the financing base is imperative to guarantee that talented young Zambians from economically vulnerable backgrounds are not locked out of universities and colleges. Bridging this divide is essential for cultivating the specialized human capital required to drive the nation's broad economic diversification and industrialization agendas. To mitigate these financial pressures, HELSB has proposed innovative collaboration frameworks, encouraging commercial banks to formulate bespoke education-backed financial products. Such facilities could incorporate flexible, salary-linked repayment models and phased disbursements covering tuition, campus accommodation, and study materials. Furthermore, institutional investors such as pension schemes and asset managers have been urged to explore structured investment vehicles, including social impact bonds, which can deliver sustainable long-term returns while directly advancing national human development. Simultaneously, HELSB is intensifying internal revenue generation through aggressive loan recoveries. T