German Government Awards CEO of Chancen International, Batya Blankers for Building a Fairer Model for Education Finance

German Government Awards CEO of Chancen International, Batya Blankers for Building a Fairer Model for Education Finance

The BMZ Award recognises a model that expands access to higher education, links financing to employment and opens economic opportunity for young people excluded by traditional finance

Frankfurt/Kigali, 7 September 2026: Batya Blankers, CEO and co-founder of Chancen International, has received the 2026 Engagement Award of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for her longstanding professional commitment to expanding access to higher education and work for young people excluded by traditional finance.

The award also draws attention to a challenge hiding in plain sight: across Africa, millions of capable young people are locked out of tertiary education and skills training not by lack of talent, but by lack of fair financing. At a time when employers are demanding more skills and formal training, access to education remains out of reach for many of the young people who could benefit most. For Chancen International, this is one of the most important and solvable barriers to economic mobility.

Chancen International was built to address that market failure with a model designed around employment, not enrollment. The organisation finances higher education and vocational training with no upfront tuition, no collateral and no credit history required. 

Graduates only begin making income-based repayments once they are employed and earning above a set threshold. Contributions are capped, time-bound and can pause during unemployment, caregiving or further study, helping ensure affordability while protecting students from over-indebtedness. Repayments by former programme participants then help finance the education of future students, turning a one-time investment into a cycle of opportunity across generations. In this way, the model offers an alternative to traditional student loans while aligning incentives around real employment outcomes.

"Talent is everywhere. Opportunity is not," said Batya Blankers, CEO of Chancen International. "Too many young people are excluded from higher education because the system asks them to carry risks before they have had the chance to build a future. We want to prove that fairer education finance can unlock talent, jobs and long-term economic contribution at scale."

Commenting further on this, Ingmar Lampson, Managing Director of Klett Group, one of Chancen’s cornerstone investors, said: “So many high quality educational organisations, TVET schools and universities, try to close the skills gap in their respective countries. For too long these organisations could only serve students who were able to pay the fees. Chancen International made these schools accessible for all talents meeting the educational preconditions, regardless of their financial backgrounds. Doing this with a model that is also financially sustainable, Chancen is creating a lasting impact on the educational system and the labour markets in many countries.”

Since launching in Rwanda in 2018, Chancen International has financed education for more than 10,000 young people across four countries and now works with more than 40 education partners, including UBS Foundation. According to the organisation, 74 percent of graduates gain employment, and the model is particularly focused on low-income, rural youth and young women, who often face the highest barriers to education and work. By connecting financing to skilling and employability, Chancen aims not only to widen access to education, but to increase long-term earnings and create broader economic contributions.

The BMZ award recognises not only Blankers' personal commitment, but also the growing case for a different approach to education finance - one that shares risk more fairly, supports students into work and creates lasting opportunity beyond the classroom. As demand for skilled young workers continues to grow across African economies and internationally, models that connect education access to employment outcomes are likely to become increasingly important.