2024-2025: A Year of Growth for Jump Finance

Jump Finance grew to 500+ students across three universities in The Gambia this year, with new software, new payment infrastructure, and two new student products.

FEATURED

6/17/20252 min read

This past year, Jump Finance grew faster than any year before it. We added new students, new university partners, and new tools to make the process of financing an education simpler for the people who need it most. Here's a look back at what we built and who it reached.

Serving 500+ students across three universities

We now work with three Gambian institutions and support more than 500 students, up from around 350 the year before. That growth has been steady since we started in 2020, and this past year alone we added over 150 new students to the program.

Two new products, born from student needs

Working alongside 30 undergraduate students from UT Austin's Texas Convergent program (our second year partnering with them, across Product, Design, and Technology), we piloted two ideas that are now part of our core offering:

  • Career support: helping students build resumes, network, and find income-generating opportunities while they study.

  • Small business loans: giving students capital to start or grow small businesses, so they have another path to generate income alongside their education.

Both started as pilots. Both are now built into what we offer every student.

Bar chart showing Jump Finance student growth from 2020 to 2025
Bar chart showing Jump Finance student growth from 2020 to 2025
Jump Finance course registration and payment dashboard
Jump Finance course registration and payment dashboard

Built for scale: new software, new payment infrastructure

To support that growth, we upgraded the tools behind the scenes:

  • Course registration software, so universities and students can manage enrollment through the same platform they use for payment plans, making the experience end-to-end.

  • Automated payments through the WAVE API, removing manual steps from how students make payments and how those payments get recorded.

These upgrades matter because they let us serve more students without adding proportionally more overhead, which keeps the program sustainable as we grow.

Jump Finance team with UT Austin Texas Convergent students
Jump Finance team with UT Austin Texas Convergent students
Students attending a Jump Finance career and small business pilot session
Students attending a Jump Finance career and small business pilot session

What's next

Our goals for the coming year:

  • Full integration with the WAVE payment system

  • Expanding small business loans into a complete product offering

  • Opening our first university partnership in Sierra Leone

  • Reaching 1,000 students and profitability by 2027