Digital merry-go-rounds for school fees
Low-income parents in Kampala face crushing monthly pressure to pay private school fees or risk disrupting their children's education.
CircleFees digitizes Uganda’s trusted savings circles specifically for education. Parents form or join groups of 6–10 where everyone contributes weekly via mobile money; the app automatically rotates who receives the full term fee payout. A separate sponsorship board lets local businesses and NGOs fund specific children with full transparency.
Low-income parents and guardians in Kampala, Uganda with primary-school-age children
Combines culturally familiar ‘munno mukabi’ group savings with verifiable sponsor matching and automated rotation calendars tied to real school terms.
community-driven
Create or discover trusted parent circles
Track and verify contributions via Flutterwave
Automatically schedules who receives payout each term
Businesses browse and sponsor specific children
Live view of all contributions and payouts
Simple escalation and admin resolution flow
Secure chat for circle members
Automatic PDF receipts for businesses
Trust rating based on contribution history
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| phone | text | No |
| trust_score | int | Yes |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| name | text | No |
| contribution_amount_ugx | int | No |
| cycle_weeks | int | No |
| status | text | No |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| circle_id | uuid | No |
| user_id | uuid | No |
| next_payout_date | timestamp | Yes |
Relationships:
| Column | Type | Nullable |
|---|---|---|
| id | uuid | No |
| child_id | uuid | No |
| sponsor_id | uuid | Yes |
| amount_ugx | int | No |
| status | text | No |
Relationships:
/api/circlesDiscover circles
/api/contributeRecord and verify contribution
/api/sponsorCreate new sponsorship
No sponsorship tools
None
None
| Month | Users | Conversion | MRR | ARR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | 120 | 11% | $510 | $6,120 |
| Month 6 | 950 | 18% | $3,100 | $37,200 |
Join or create a parent circle and never miss a term again. Real community, real transparency.
Seed 8–10 circles with parents from the same church or savings group in Bwaise and Kisenyi. Offer the first 3 months free to any circle that brings in 6 paying members. Approach 5 small businesses on Kampala Road with a one-page sponsor deck showing real child profiles.
General group savings
Not tied to school calendars
Education-specific rotation and sponsor tools
Large reach
One-off donations, no recurring circles
Recurring structured group model
Trust graph built from repeated successful circles creates high switching costs. Growing database of vetted local sponsors.
Rising school fees combined with renewed interest in traditional savings circles after the economic pressure of 2020–2023.
Group money disputes
Clear terms, optional escrow via Flutterwave, mediation tools
Building initial trust for circles
Start with pre-existing church and neighborhood groups
Success: All 4 circles complete one full cycle without dropout
Success: 75% of circles still active after 8 weeks
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