A Blockchain-Based Crowdsourcing Loan Platform for Funding Higher Education in Developing Countries

Abstract

In developing countries, funding is a significant obstacle to receiving higher education. Brilliant but needy students cannot complete their studies since their parents are unemployed and their countries' economies are poor. As a result, the students' talents are not harnessed to their full potential. Blockchain technology is a growing platform for making and storing secure and trustworthy transactions on distributed ledgers. In this work, we employ blockchain technology coupled with crowdsourcing to provide a loan platform to offer financial assistance to students in tertiary institutions in developing countries. This platform will allow students to apply for loans through registered financial institutions from registered investors and pay them back with interest when they start working. We perform a thorough security analysis and back the efficiency of our work with numerical results.INDEX TERMS Blockchain, crowdsourcing, higher education, smart contracts, student loan.