Education financing firm expanding in 2023

A local education financing platform plans to expand its operations next year after marking over half a billion pesos worth of tuition funded for Filipino students in 2022.

As Philippine schools continue to further open up next year, Bukas president Jon Robert Emlano expressed optimism that they would be able to scale up in 2023.

“We look forward to helping more Filipino students, and their families in 2023, especially now postpandemic, where we expect higher enrollments in tertiary education,” Emlano said in a message sent to the Inquirer.

“We hope that with our products and services, we will be able to provide them the support they need inside and outside of the classroom,” he added.

Touted as a “student-first brand,” Bukas is a tech-enabled education financing platform offering affordable tuition loans.

Bukas has helped over 15,000 students across 90 partner campuses across the Philippines, with partner universities continuing to grow.

Its partners in Metro Manila include De La Salle University, Centro Escolar University, Technological Institute of the Philippines, Adamson University, Mapua University, National Teachers College, Our Lady of Fatima University, Far Eastern University (FEU) and FEU Tech.

Bukas has also partnered with schools outside the metropolis, including Saint Louis University, Cebu Institute of Technology-University, Phinma Education and the University of the Visayas.

“Despite the pandemic the past two years, we’ve managed to continuously grow our portfolio. We’re confident that we can scale the business to help even more students continue their studies for a better tomorrow,” Emlano said further.

In 2023, Bukas aims to be more aggressive in covering more schools outside Metro Manila.

“We are also working on expanding our products and services to cater to more students and improve the user experience for the school admin and the students,” he added.