Almost nobody funds an MBA because you want one
Business is the field where funders ask hardest what the degree is for. One scheme here only pays if your work fits development. One is open to three African countries. One is half a loan. The honest route into a funded MBA is to show what you will build, not what you will earn.
9 routes · checked 18 October 2026
Two rows that will not work for most readers here
SCO Digi-Face is open to Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana, so a Pakistani applicant cannot use it. The Aga Khan award is half grant and half loan, with fifty per cent repayable, and it cannot be used for study in the United Kingdom, which rules it out alongside Chevening and Commonwealth.
The nine routes
Each row links to the guide that covers that route in full. Where a route sets no single date, this page says what decides yours.
| Guide | Route and condition | Country | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Scholarship | Business and management at UK universities | United Kingdom | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Chevening Scholarship | One-year master’s, including MBA | United Kingdom | Opens in August, closes in early October. |
| Boustany Harvard MBA | The only MBA-specific award here. Covers 75% of tuition, not the whole cost | United States | One award every two years. Check the cycle before you plan. |
| Fulbright Scholarship | Master’s, including business schools | United States | Set by the Fulbright commission in your own country. |
| Rotary Global Grant | Only within economic and community development. A club applies for you | Worldwide | Set by the sponsoring Rotary district, not by Rotary International. |
| Aga Khan Foundation ISP | Postgraduate, half grant and half loan | Not the UK or Russia | The next cycle opens in early 2027, through the local office. |
| Swedish Institute SISGP | Business and management at Swedish universities | Sweden | Two steps. Universities first, then the scholarship application. |
| DAAD Scholarship | Business and economics, including EPOS development programmes | Germany | Varies by programme. Each DAAD course sets its own date. |
| SCO Digi-Face DAAD | Master of Business Research. Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana only | Not open to Pakistan | Not a route for most readers of this page. |
Start here
The guides that cover this field as a whole, rather than one route.
Fully funded scholarships for business students
The main guide, with what each route pays and who it accepts.
8 scholarships
Economics scholarships
Several of these routes fund economics more readily than an MBA.
Related field
Hidden costs of “fully funded”
Worth reading before you accept a 75% award or a half-loan award.
Strategy
What actually wins these. Every scheme on this page funds business as a means to something, not as an end. Chevening asks about leadership, Fulbright about what you bring back, Rotary about community development, the Aga Khan Foundation about your home country, DAAD’s EPOS track about development work. An application that explains what you will build at home beats one that explains which bank you want to join. Confirm every date on the funder’s own page before you apply.