“We’re basically treating students the same independent of their home country. It doesn’t matter what their background is or where they are coming from, they are competing for the same jobs that people from developing nations are getting. So why shouldn’t they be getting the same loans? That’s how Prodigy Finance has been growing. 70% of our loans are going to students from developing nations.”

How do you plan to finance your MBA? This can be a very challenging process, especially for students from developing countries who have less access to competitive MBA loans. Ricardo Fernandez, Head of Business Development for Prodigy Finance and Insead MBA ’06, discusses financing options for students pursuing their MBA outside their home country, as well as how Prodigy is innovating in this space. Prodigy has processed more than $140m USD of loans for over 4,000 MBA students in 112 countries since it launched 9 years ago.

Darren and Ricardo also talk about the value of the MBA 10 years after graduation and whether MBAs are beneficial for entrepreneurs.

About Our Guest

Ricardo Fernandez is Prodigy Finance’s Head of Business Development, working between Madrid, London and New York. After getting his MBA from INSEAD he worked in management consulting for 8 years with Accenture, BCG and KPMG. He then shifted his focus to consult for startup companies in the fintech space, and joined the Prodigy Finance team in 2014. Ricardo got a B.Eng Mechanical Engineering and Material Science from UC Berkeley.

Questions

• How can students fund their MBA educations abroad? (3:37)
• Why was Prodigy started? (8:16)
• Prodigy’s rates, investment model and community benefits (15:35)
• Last tips for financing your MBA (24:50)
• Looking back at your career, 10 years after you got your MBA, what is the biggest benefit you’ve gotten from Insead? (27:30)
• Insead’s alumni network and what to look for in alumni networks (29:58)
• At least 50% of Insead graduates start or run their own company at some point in their career – why do you think that is? Are MBAs conducive or even necessary for startups? (34:14)
• How do investors view MBAs? (40:00)

This episode of Touch MBA is brought to you be Prodigy Finance – the leader in education loans for international postgraduate students. Visit prodigyfinance.com to learn more.

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