This piece is written by Annum Hussain, Director of Programmes at Wedu

“ISAs are no longer a scattered set of experiments. They are the foundation of a growing global community.”

Last week, I had the opportunity to join a diverse and passionate group of educators, investors, and innovators at the 2025 Global ISA Alliance Convening, held in Barcelona, Spain. Hosted at Esade and supported by the European Investment Fund, this three-day gathering brought together some of the standout players in the Income Share Agreement (ISA) ecosystem; from long-standing pioneers to emerging disruptors, spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Though the models varied, the shared purpose was unmistakable: to unlock access to education without the crushing weight of debt, and to build a financing system that centres student agency, equity, and long-term impact.

ISAs at a Turning Point

The convening came at a pivotal moment for ISAs. After years of experimentation, the field is beginning to mature. What was once a niche concept is on its way to becoming a globally recognised alternative to traditional student financing. But with this growth comes responsibility. As the Global ISA Alliance team put it: “We need shared reporting standards—on both social and financial impact.”

“We need shared reporting standards—on both social and financial impact.”

The call for alignment was echoed throughout the convening: a desire not only for best practices but for a shared system that can help providers learn from one another, build trust with funders, and establish legitimacy in global markets.

To that end, the Global ISA Alliance introduced early thinking around a potential shared data platform, inspired by Equilo’s work with the 2X Global Challenge. Jessica Menon, Equilo’s CEO, joined discussions on what such a system could look like for ISAs—one that supports providers and investors alike, without compromising mission or equity.

From Student Experiment to Global Movement

Perhaps no story better illustrates the long arc of ISAs than that of StudierendenGesellschaft Witten/Herdecke (SG) in Germany. Founded in 1995 by students at Witten/Herdecke University, SG launched one of the world’s first ISA-style models, known in German as Umgekehrter Generationenvertrag (Reverse Generation Contract). Their belief was simple but powerful: that money should never be a barrier to education, and that repayment—tied to post-graduation income—could be a tool of solidarity.

Money should never be a barrier to education, and repayment can be a tool of solidarity.

Today, SG manages over US$ 4 million in tuition annually and has supported more than 4,500 students through its income-based model. But SG’s impact goes far beyond financing. Its structure empowers students not only to shape their own educational paths but also to co-govern the institution itself. With a seat on the university’s governing board, SG brings the student voice into key strategic decisions—including how tuition is priced, drawing on detailed analysis of labour market trends. It stands as a compelling case study in what student-led, student-financed education can look like when solidarity, autonomy, and accountability are built into the system from the ground up.

Inspired by this model, two alumni of Witten/Herdecke University—both former members of SG’s management board, including one who participated in the Global ISA Alliance gathering in Barcelona—founded Chancen eG expanding ISAs to students at other universities across Germany. Two years later Chancen International- now a pan-African initiative operating in Rwanda, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana was launched. Its co-founder, Batya Blankers, is herself a graduate of Witten and former SG supervisory board member. Having financed her own studies through an ISA, Batya saw the opportunity to take this income-contingent model beyond Europe—adapting it to the realities of emerging markets, where access to higher education and vocational training is tightly bound to economic mobility.

Alongside her co-chair Mario Ferro (CEO of Waiser and co-founder of Wedu), Batya now helps lead the Global ISA Alliance—a community that represents not just providers, but students, funders, and practitioners committed to making ISAs fair, transparent, and transformative.

Student Stories That Ground Us

We began the convening with real voices—the students at the heart of this work. From Better Future Forward (BFF) in the United States, we heard the stories of Tiffany Romero and Jose Aguilar, whose academic dreams nearly derailed due in part to bureaucratic hurdles in federal aid. BFF’s model, which acts as a flexible supplement to government grants and loans, helped them stay enrolled and finish their degrees.

Nils Luerweg and Caspar-Fridolin Lorenz from SG shared how 50% of students at Witten University are currently funded through ISAs—choosing between monthly tuition payments or income-contingent contributions/repayments after graduation. Income contributions not only support future students, but are seen as an act of community solidarity. And from Esade, we heard the story that helped shape their ISA offering at the university: during the COVID-19 pandemic, a student offered to give up his scholarship so his sister could continue her studies, promising to repay the funds once he was able. That simple, powerful act of family solidarity paved the way for the ISA financing model—one that reflects the real-life trade-offs students make and puts flexibility, trust, and dignity at its core. Today, Esade’s ISA offering, supported by Quotanda, is backed by credit guarantees from the European Investment Fund (EIF) and enables students to access education with the understanding that repayment happens only when they’re in a position to do so.

We also heard the story of Malengo, an organisation using ISAs to create life-changing educational pathways for students from refugee and low-income backgrounds—particularly those in Uganda and Kenya seeking opportunities abroad. Malengo supports students in accessing fully-funded higher education in Germany, covering both tuition and living expenses through an income-based repayment model.

“Talent is universal, but opportunity is not.”

What sets Malengo apart is its unwavering commitment to radical inclusion, grounded in a simple but powerful belief: talent is universal, but opportunity is not. By removing financial barriers and providing support as students adapt to new countries and cultures, Malengo is enabling international educational migration as a pathway out of poverty—and doing so with care, evidence, and humility.

What resonated deeply was Malengo’s internal value system, which reflects both intellectual rigour and moral clarity. Two values stood out in particular:

• Dedication to evidence: “We are constantly trying to disprove our model. If we find we are causing harm, or not having a positive impact, we change the program.” This commitment to self-scrutiny and adaptation is rare and essential.
• Planned obsolescence: “We are dedicated to the mission, not the organization.” Malengo’s ultimate goal is to become obsolete. Rather than building an empire, they aim to build a movement—collaborating openly with others working toward similar goals.

This collaborative spirit was especially visible in Nathalie Hubschneider, Malengo’s Country Director for Germany, who openly shared learnings with Wedu around supporting displaced students and navigating restrictive employment policies across Africa through the support of humanitarian partners. It was a quiet but powerful example of what this convening made possible: organisations learning across borders, united by a shared purpose.

“ISAs are tools to widen access, not narrow it.”

We also heard examples from Lumni, whose “Classroom Model” continues to expand across universities in Colombia, and Brighter Investments– a Canadian investment fund with offshoots in Ghana and Uganda. Each provider in this growing field brings a different lens and approach—but the collective thread is clear: ISAs are tools to widen access, not narrow it. To succeed, they must always be grounded in student outcomes, autonomy, and dignity.

A Field Building Its Foundation

The convening wasn’t just inspirational—it was practical. Sessions dove deep into the “how” of scaling ISAs responsibly: co-creating ethical frameworks, shaping impact metrics, and learning from the microfinance sector’s own evolution from experimentation to standard-setting.

Tom Hall, CEO of UBS Optimus Foundation, captured the opportunity and the challenge in a powerful fireside chat. Scholarships alone, he noted, would require $60 trillion to fund global education needs—a scale philanthropy can’t sustain. But ISAs? Just $0.5 trillion could unlock transformative access—if designed and financed well.

“Through ISAs, just $0.5 trillion could unlock transformative access—if designed and financed well.”

Tom’s message was clear: “If you get the economics right, scaling can happen.” His belief that ISAs could evolve into a mainstream, impact-driven asset class— served as a rallying call—for funders to back bold innovation, and for ISA providers to build with purpose and precision.

Where We Go From Here

The ISA movement is still young—but no longer nascent. With nearly 30 years of lessons from SG, a rising generation of mission-driven providers, and growing interest from funders, this space is poised for scale. The question is no longer if ISAs can scale—but how to ensure they do so ethically, equitably, and in ways that keep student voices at the centre.

“The question is no longer if ISAs can scale—but how to ensure they do so ethically, equitably, and in ways that keep student voices at the centre.”

As shared by the Global ISA Alliance team, four strategic priorities are now emerging to guide this next chapter:

1. Establish shared standards and cultivate a values-aligned community of practice.
2. Build capacity across providers while encouraging bold experimentation and contextual innovation.
3. Elevate stories and data that demonstrate how ISAs can expand opportunity and mobility.
4. Strengthen the Alliance itself with the team and resources needed for long-term sustainability.

By 2035, the Global ISA Alliance aims to help 100,000 students achieve intergenerational mobility through financing that’s fair, transparent, and outcomes-driven. Already, the Alliance’s first dozen members—including Wedu—have financed over 28,000 learners, deploying US$ 356 million in support of student success.

“The 2025 Global ISA Alliance convening was a reminder of what’s possible when shared values inspire collective action.”

The 2025 Global ISA Alliance convening was a reminder of what’s possible when shared values inspire collective action. A sincere thank you to our hosts, Esade and Quotanda; the sponsors, European Investment Fund; my fellow attendees; and the Global ISA Alliance leadership—Batya Blankers, and Mario Ferro—whose leadership has transformed ambition into infrastructure and ideas into a movement. More than just a space for reflection, this convening served as a platform to co-create what’s next.

There’s still much work ahead. But after Barcelona, one thing is clear: ISAs are no longer a scattered set of experiments. They are the foundation of a growing global community—one rooted in shared values, advancing emerging standards, and united by the belief that education financing models should unlock futures, not limit them.

Let’s keep building.

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