Helpende Hand Studietrust Interest-Free Study Loan

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

The Helpende Hand Studietrust, the study-funding arm of Solidariteit Helpende Hand in the Solidarity Movement, lends money to Afrikaans students without charging interest. Its applications are open every year from 1 July to 30 September for help in the following academic year, so the window for 2027 closes on 30 September 2026. The trust says it works strictly to that date and will not consider any application received outside the period.

The trust’s website and application system are in Afrikaans. The key terms are set out below in English.

A partial loan, mainly for class fees

The Studietrust grants partial, interest-free study loans to needy, deserving Afrikaans students at any accredited tertiary institution in South Africa, whether they study full-time or part-time. The money is used mainly for tuition. It is a partial loan, so students should expect to find the rest of their costs elsewhere; the trust does not publish a maximum amount.

The loan does not pay for failed or repeated modules, or for fees already in arrears. Students who already hold a Studietrust loan must reapply in the same 1 July to 30 September window each year.

R200 a month while studying, then the rest over the same number of years

Interest-free does not mean repayment-free. The Studietrust’s 2026 information sheet sets two repayment rules:

• Students must repay at least R200 a month during their studies.
• A repayment agreement is signed as soon as the studies are completed, and the loan must be paid back over the same number of years that the student borrowed for. A four-year degree funded by the trust is therefore repaid over four years.

The repayments are what keep the scheme going: each rand a graduate pays back is lent to the next student. Since its first loans in 2009, when 118 students received R815,600, the trust says it has helped about 7,000 students.

How the committees choose

Independent study fund committees evaluate the applications against three criteria: academic performance, the family’s social circumstances, and the household’s composition and combined gross annual income. Membership of Solidariteit Helpende Hand earns an applicant an additional criteria point, and membership can be taken out through the organisation’s sign-up page.

Many loans come from named funds inside the trust, each with its own criteria. Community study funds are raised by volunteers in particular regions and expect students to take part in the local branch’s projects. Other funds are aimed at specific groups, for example:

• the Susanna Smit Studiefonds, which lends to female students and has supported 29 women with more than R2 million since 2020
• the Hier Sal Ek Boer Studiefonds, started in 2021 for needy students from a farming background studying agriculture, nature conservation or a wildlife-industry course
• the JD Kestell Studiefonds, which helps students whose studies are threatened by a sudden crisis such as lost income

Registering on aansoek.studiefonds.co.za

New students register on the Studietrust application system, and existing loan holders sign in with their current details. The student must complete and submit the application personally. The documents to upload include:

• proof of income of the person or people who support the student financially
• the latest academic record, or the Matric certificate or Grade 11 report
• proof of the highest qualification already obtained, if any
• identity documents of the student and all household members
• proof of registration or provisional acceptance at a tertiary institution
• any document that explains the student’s circumstances, such as a sworn statement of unemployment or a social worker’s letter for a student living in a children’s home

If a document is not available by 30 September, the applicant uploads a declaration in its place and adds the real document as soon as possible afterwards. The trust takes no responsibility for chasing incomplete applications before they go to committee.

Students going to Akademia, Bo-Karoo Opleiding, Sol-Tech or the Helpende Hand Opleidingsinstituut, and anyone taking a short course, follow a different process and different dates, set out on the trust’s student information page. Queries go to studente@helpendehand.co.za or 012 111 8360 (option 1).

Afrikaans students can also apply for the BBT Scholarship for Afrikaans Students, which does not have to be repaid. Before signing any loan agreement, read how student loan and bursary obligations differ, or compare a bank option such as the Standard Bank student loan.

FAQs