Innovation

Founded by Naga Tan, Bukas employs an innovative tuition financing model that empowers students to enroll in quality programs, enabling them to focus on learning without worrying about fees.

Bukas emphasizes, "Something that is more flexible; something that's more convenient and cheaper compared to the alternatives in the market, so they can focus more on studying and graduating and finding a better future for themselves."

Bukas structures customized payment plans that consolidate all charges into reasonable student installments. With unparalleled flexibility and convenience, surpassing traditional lenders, Bukas allows students to excel in their studies without financial distractions.

As Bukas celebrates its fourth anniversary in 2023, the startup remains attuned to evolving societal needs and student perspectives. In response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced classes online, Bukas implemented targeted digital marketing strategies, reaching out directly to learners without needing school visits. Continuous fine-tuning of flexible payment options further alleviates financial pressures intensified by the pandemic.

Empowering Filipino youths to access quality higher education ultimately unlocks their potential to advance in decent work, fuel economic growth, and rise from inequality.

For instance, graduates from top Filipino universities earn an average starting salary of around 15,000 pesos per month, compared to only 10,000 pesos for high school graduates. Over a 40-year career, this difference compounds, resulting in millions of pesos in additional salary and access to more fulfilling work.

By empowering disadvantaged students to earn university degrees, Bukas plays a crucial role in breaking cycles of intergenerational poverty. Graduates become economically empowered, providing better nutrition, housing, healthcare, and education for future generations. They secure meaningful livelihoods that elevate health and prosperity, contributing to the economic strength of communities from the bottom up. Families, neighbors, and local economies all reap the benefits. Importantly, by enabling low-income youth to reach their fullest potential, Bukas multiplies human capital—the most valuable asset for national development. These empowered graduates will become teachers, engineers, IT specialists, healthcare workers, and business leaders, driving innovation across the Philippines for years to come.

Inspiration

The Philippines boasts a robust private college and university system, widely considered to provide the highest quality tertiary education in the country. Renowned institutions such as Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and the University of Santo Tomas are celebrated for their rigorous academics and research.

However, attending these elite private schools comes at a steep price—annual tuition alone can exceed ₱200,000 (nearly 4,000 USD). When factoring in additional expenses like books, transportation, housing, and other fees, the total annual cost can soar to over ₱500,000.

For a significant number of bright young Filipinos from disadvantaged backgrounds, figures like these render a university degree virtually unattainable. Even those from middle-income families grapple with the challenge of covering these costs. Tragically, many academically gifted students who pass entrance exams for these schools are compelled to decline simply because paying the tuition is impossible.

Over the decades, countless young people full of potential have abandoned their dreams of attending the Philippines' best universities, their futures compromised by financial constraints beyond their control. The private education system has become somewhat exclusionary—accessible only to a small subset of students from privileged families, while equally deserving youth from poorer backgrounds find the door to advancement closed.

Bukas, meaning "open" in Tagalog, embodies the company's driving mission: to open these doors.

“We believe that education is the great equalizer in society,” asserts Bukas. It was this vast, unmet need that inspired Erudifi, the parent company of Bukas, to offer its services to the Philippine market. More than just a business opportunity, it is a personal commitment to empowering Filipino youth and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to create positive change.

Overall impact

Bukas has already ignited a chain reaction of positive impact by disbursing over 800 million pesos into the academic ambitions of over 1,000 Filipino students.

Bukas magnifies human capital and educational attainment nationwide by empowering more Filipino youth to earn university degrees today. This enrichment of talent and qualifications has a cascading effect over time, advancing several SDGs.

First, higher education levels correlate with substantially increased awareness of sustainability challenges. More graduates make lifestyle choices aligning with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)—eating less meat, driving fewer miles, and minimizing disposable plastics. This curbs emissions and strains on ecosystems.

Additionally, as graduates spread across industries, their conservationist mindsets propagate. Doctors advocate public health policies mitigating the health impacts of climate change. Engineers design resilient infrastructure and advanced renewable energy projects addressing SDG 13 (Climate Action). Sustainability concepts grow embedded into business operations, technology, and innovation.

Furthermore, alumni driving advancements across sectors – from agriculture to IT to manufacturing—power broad economic growth. But crucially, Bukas graduates focused on equitable, ecological development spur progress towards SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). Their expertise strengthens sustainable industrialization, expanding economic mobility.

In short, Bukas' support for youth education initiates a domino sequence advancing interlinked SDGs over decades. The enriched human capital, rising sustainability awareness, evolving industries, and spreading innovation set off a chain reaction of progress at scale. We see how empowering individuals creates network effects rippling through society.

So, while Bukas expands degree accessibility to transform lives, the resulting growth of talent and qualifications unlocks enduring advancement toward economic, social, and environmental development goals. The immense potential of human capital is multiplied many times over. That is the transformative domino effect sparked when investment in youth education allows human ingenuity to flourish. To quote Bukas,

"The future begins in university, and we're all about that."

Business benefit

Bukas has staked out a critical yet overlooked niche in the financial industry, developing services explicitly tailored to meet the unique needs of college students. While most banks take a one-size-fits-all approach, Bukas digs deeper to understand how products like student banking accounts, loans, and credit cards can be designed for seamless integration into a student's lifestyle. This specialized offering fills a significant gap for a tech-savvy, budget-conscious demographic and values customized experiences that reflect their priorities around flexibility, convenience, and support.

"We continue to evaluate our products and how we let the market know given the market situation."

By developing expertise around the financial challenges students face, from managing expenses on irregular income streams to building a credit history for the first time, Bukas has an opportunity to foster life-long loyalty. Their services provide the ideal gateway to guide students into the financial system in a way that sets them up for ongoing success. The thoughtful product features and financial literacy resources Bukas offers could empower students to establish healthy financial habits and gain confidence in managing money wisely.

Ultimately, Bukas demonstrates how catering to niche demographics can drive value, innovation, and inclusivity in the financial industry. Their example highlights the competitive advantages of genuinely understanding an underserved customer base. If more businesses follow suit and dig deeper to develop specialized services for subgroups like college students, it could spark creative new offerings that promote empowerment and equity across the financial services ecosystem. Bukas provides an inspiring model of how meeting narrow needs can have widespread benefits.

Social and environmental benefit

Bukas taps into a powerful narrative—that the path to a degree rarely follows a straight line. By celebrating determination in the face of twists and turns, their messaging fosters inclusivity and empowerment for all who dare to pursue higher education. Consider Bukas' tongue-in-cheek "Walang-hiya Estudyante Award," which honors determined students tirelessly chasing dreams on their terms.

"Be unapologetic in the route that you're taking," Bukas emphasizes. It spotlights working students persevering through sleepless nights around their shifts. Single parents rise before dawn to fit in studies between getting kids ready for school. Transferees overcoming credits that don't transfer. Shiftees changing majors again and again until they find the right fit.

These stories stand out not because they glamorize the struggle but because they validate that the messiness of life cannot curb ambition. Bukas puts a playful spin on the message that there is no "right" way to earn a degree—the future belongs to those bold enough to own it. This shifts higher education from an intimidating monolith into an inclusive, welcoming landscape. It sparks imaginations about what could be achieved if more people felt encouraged to access opportunities—not despite hardship, but perhaps because of the grit developed in coping with it.

At first glance, Bukas' offerings seem focused strictly on expanding educational access, not saving the planet. However, by empowering more Filipinos to pursue higher learning, Bukas sets in motion social transformations that could greatly benefit the environment.

Experience shows that as education levels rise within a society, so does environmental awareness and support for conservation efforts. They better understand humankind's complex relationship with nature and back policies protecting ecosystems. Over time, these individual decisions and shifting social values manifest as healthier forests, less pollution, and stabilized climates.

So, while Bukas may not brand itself as an eco-friendly company, its work facilitating efficient and engaging education will likely put the Philippines on a more sustainable trajectory. Broader access to quality learning nurtures the types of social progress that encourage environmental protection. In a country, as biodiverse yet threatened as the Philippines, this educational enrichment and ensuing conservationist culture are worthy of passion and praise.

Interview

Jheric Delos Angeles, Head of Marketing