We operate the prepaid tuition network for the private education sector.
Neither a bank nor an insurer: the technology and the contractual framework that make it possible to pay for education in advance, with the money always in the chosen institution’s own account.
Why it did not exist already.
Ankla comes out of a simple observation: in Spain there was no sensible way to get ahead of the price of education. Nicolás Nugent, a financial consultant and the founder of Ankla, went looking for one and found none that convinced him.
Paying the whole tuition at once is beyond most people. A loan solves the outlay but leaves a debt behind. And saving on your own only reaches attractive returns by accepting a variation you do not control: the year the money is needed need not be a good year in the markets.
A third way was missing: paying in advance, little by little, straight to the institution, with each payment protected from later increases. That is what the system behind the network does, designed after a long stretch of legal, tax, financial and operational research. That is where the name comes from: an anchor does not stop movement, it stops drift.
The model was tested before the company existed: Jesús Pérez, a financial specialist and actuary, and Daniel Provedo, a lawyer, had to be satisfied with it. Ankla was incorporated once all three agreed.
The institution collects earlier and retains; whoever pays gets ahead of the increases; and the money does not move from where it belongs. The aim is easy to state and hard to execute.
That more people can reach the education they want, and that no one has to lose for that to happen.
Five rules we hold ourselves to.
Rigour
We do not publish a figure we cannot support or a promise the contract does not carry. When something is an estimate, we say so.
Transparency
The terms for cancellation, price review and transfer are known before signing and do not change afterwards. No small print, neither for the institution nor for whoever pays.
Defensibility
Every design decision is taken with an eye on how a legal team, an auditor or a supervisor will read it. We prefer the more defensible option even when it is the slower one.
Composure
We would rather serve a few institutions well than many badly. No commercial hurry justifies a shortcut when someone else’s money is involved.
Service for the long term
A tuition commitment can run for more than a decade. We stay with the institution for that whole life, not only up to the signature.
Built so that they do not depend on us.
Each institution collects into its own account from day one. The collection mandates are theirs, not ours, and so is the fund that builds up. The money never passes through Ankla at any point.
The consequence matters more than the technical detail: if Ankla stopped operating, the signed contracts would stand and the payments would keep reaching the institution. Building it this way costs more and leaves us with less control. That is deliberate. No one should take on counterparty risk for offering a service to their own students.
The people behind Ankla.
Three profiles that complement each other: the design of the model, the actuarial assessment of the risk, and the legal framework that holds it up.
Nicolás Nugent Lora
Leads Ankla's strategy and platform. He designed the model the network rests on. Financial and business consultant, graduate in Business Administration (Universidad de Lima) and Master in Management (IE Business School). EFPA European Financial Advisor (EFA). Specialisation programme in financial advice at IEB.
Jesús Pérez Pérez
Leads the finances and the economic model of the Ankla network. Independent financial and insurance adviser, with degrees in Economics and in Actuarial and Financial Sciences (Universidad Complutense de Madrid). Certified International Investment Analyst (CIIA) and European Financial Planner (EFP). Lecturer at IEB, Universidad de Alcalá and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
Who we work with.
Alberto Ibáñez
Institutional Development
Develops Ankla's institutional network. Founder and Managing Director of MOVA Education Partners. Previously Director Asia Pacific at IE University, responsible for its offices in India, China, Singapore and Japan, and before that Director of Client Relations at ETS Global. Dual Master in Management and Strategic Marketing and MBA from Hult International Business School, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from London Metropolitan University.
MOVA Education Partners
International growth
Helps universities, business schools and EdTech organisations grow internationally through strategic partnerships, market expansion and student recruitment strategy. Its work spans Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific, across international market development, commercial partnerships and transnational education.
Let us talk about how it fits your institution.
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