ImpactAlpha, March 6 – About one-quarter of Mexico’s population attains a university degree. To improve livelihoods and earning potential for the rest, Quotanda helps learners pay for tech training in high-demand skill sectors like web-programming, cybersecurity and Salesforce implementation.
The company partners with tech bootcamps like Academlo and Ironhack. Students repay the costs of the program only after they’ve secured a job earning at least 12,000 Mexican pesos ($670) per month, which is at the high end of earnings for urban workers.
About 85% of learners enrolled with Quotanda’s tech bootcamp partners secure jobs paying more than 20,000 pesos monthly, Quotanda’s Grant Taylor told ImpactAlpha.
IDB Lab, a division of the Inter-American Development Bank, is providing Quotanda with a $750,000 loan to ramp up its financing of income-share agreements.
“With this program, IDB Lab aims to foster inclusion and to help more women and students from vulnerable backgrounds gain the skills they need to start a career in the digital economy,” said IDB Lab’s Elena Heredero.
Pay-as-you-earn
A host of startups worldwide, such as New York-based Pursuit, are using income share agreements to help low-wage and underserved groups train for and access higher-wage jobs.
Financial backers of such programs include Boston-based Social Finance, which is investing in “career impact bonds” with partners like Google to upskill low-income workers in the U.S. The Future of Work Fund has secured backing from family office Ceniarth, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. and others to use income share agreements to finance worker upskilling in Rwanda.
