Feenix Trust

Feenix exists to impact the lives of young people by sourcing collaborative solutions to address key issues restricting access to higher education. 94% of South African households cannot afford higher education and our youth unemployment is one of the worst in the world. 

The Elevate prize will be invested to overcome identified obstacles and scale evidenced support solutions:

1. We will optimise our crowdfunding technology and user experience to continue to create impactful funding relationships between students and funders.

2. We will ensure Feenix students benefit from student-informed auxiliary solutions built and developed by the Feenix Social Enterprise. This includes a local adaptation of an award-winning global digital financial literacy platform.

3. Support and funds will enable us to white-label and monetise our technology. This has the potential to create additional income streams.

The Elevate support could provide critical insights into user experience and help us reach scaling and replication milestones. Furthermore, we’d like to strengthen our MEL framework in order to remain impact-centric and user informed. Students who are financially excluded are most likely to experience other socio-economic pressures, which is why it is vital for Feenix to monitor its students’ progression and success requirements - we call them “thrive drivers”.

Africa is the most exciting and opportunity filled continent in the world. With 60% of Africa’s population being under the age of 25, the quality of education and accessibility of learning opportunities for young people will determine the entire continent's future. 

I am a passionate South African and I believe in the potential of young South Africans as active citizens who, from my experience, are doing all they can to break cycles of poverty and build this nation. Thousands of determined students arrive at university campuses with financial deficits. The cost of student drop-outs due to financial exclusion alone is a massive economic burden and impacts our entire nation's ability to move forward. We know that the government cannot solve these issues alone. 

It is easy to get dragged down by the challenges our country faces but if we can stay community focused and change the “me” to “we”, anything is possible. My vision for Feenix is to grow our impact and voice, so that we can ensure every young person in this country (and maybe even continent) is able to pursue their dreams and thrive as people.

Post apartheid, the South African education system has become demographically nondiscriminatory, yet massive socioeconomic divides and economic stagnation means it is still not equitable. 

94% of South African households earn below the threshold of affordability for higher education, restricting higher education qualifications to:

● Conditional government funding 

● Scholarships based on academic performance 

● Student loans for families with good credit scores

Feenix acts as a safety net for students who remain determined, yet excluded. Since 2017, Feenix has hosted over 4,000 students with a combined debt exceeding R250 million in study fees, of which Feenix had raised R77 million to date.

Students create personal crowdfunding profiles that they share confidently through digital channels, with guides and tools to assist their fundraising efforts. Funders make direct and transparent contributions to students who resonate with them, visibly reducing their owed study fees. 

The Feenix teams recruit students to the platform through media and university relationships. A dedicated fundraising team sources further investment from corporates and philanthropic organisations. Feenix makes payments directly to students’ university accounts.

Feenix monitors its students’ success indicators, ensuring their investment worthiness, and responds to additional needs through collaborations.

Students are the custodians of their fundraising journey. They have agency and are empowered to tell their own stories. 

Students and funder communities are connected in a transparent way that transcends geographic and socioeconomic barriers. 

Feenix has built powerful and innovative technology to ensure: 

• Smart student profiles that can be professionally shared

• Fair disbursement of general funds through smart algorithms, favouring “actively involved” students

• Fast and reliable data segmentation for funders with specific student requirements

• Smart allocation of funds received on student profiles

• Transparent and traceable disbursement of funds to universities

In April 2021, Feenix received the Nedbank Innovation Award for its response to the COVID19 pandemic. During this time, Feenix launched a fundraising campaign called #CapTheGap to equip students with laptops, data, and food vouchers to ensure continued access to their education online, during lockdown.

Through the establishment of the Feenix Social Enterprise, we are able to use our monitoring and learning from our student base to build and offer digital solutions with scaling and commercialisation potential. Feenix students raised a critical need for money management in early 2020. In the next month, they will have access to an award-winning financial literacy product dedicated to students and youth.

Nearly 70% of “Feenix students” have a household income of below R100,000 ($6,916) per annum. 95% remain on track to complete their degrees, regardless of serious challenges such as homelessness, accessibility of food and other resources to study. 

Research commissioned by Feenix identified “upward mobility through financial independence” as an ultimate goal for students to support families, reduce stress, provide for their communities, and realise their dreams. 

Recent results from our measurements showed a marked improvement between September 2020 and April 2021 in the areas of emotional support, student grit, academic progression and financial stability. These “thrive-drivers” are achieved through:

1. Creating a crowdfunding profile and being discoverable to potential funders.

2. Receiving donations as a means to reduce stress and become more focused on studying.

3. Direct Feenix team support as a form of emotional support and guidance on fundraising best practice.

4. Access to financial literacy (pilot project in 2020).

Feenix uses the insights gained from monitoring practices to continuously inform and shape our response strategies.