Getting more children into better schools through social finance and partnerships that unlock education funding
Unlocking Local Finance for Better Schools
Opportunity International’s Education Finance program is proving that targeted technical assistance, product design, and training—delivered in partnership with socially focused financial institutions—can make education funding accessible for schools and families, ultimately getting more children into better schools. We work with banks to develop sustainable portfolios of school improvement loans for school owners and school fee loans for parents with unstable incomes, combining market research, product design, staff training, and portfolio analytics to reduce risk in education lending and scale impact.
Globally, the education financing gap remains a major barrier to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal #4 of universal education. Opportunity’s approach connects private capital to school development and family affordability, addressing real-world constraints such as deficits and cash flow challenges that keep children out of school or in schools without adequate learning resources. School improvement loans fund priority investments, from new classrooms and gender-separated bathrooms to computer labs, while school fee loans help families smooth term-time costs to prevent dropouts.
From Global Model to Local Impact in Ghana
In Ghana’s Western Region, Amenfiman Rural Bank illustrates how this model translates into local impact. The bank has operated for 45 years, expanding from a single branch to 20 branches across four regions while mobilizing deposits and lending to local businesses and farmers. Within that mission, Amenfiman created a dedicated EduFinance product line after partnering with Opportunity EduFinance, becoming the first rural bank in Ghana to do so.
“We were categorizing schools into the main banking stream and not fitting their needs,” recalls Charles Damuah, head of business development at Amenfiman Rural Bank. “The partnership with Opportunity International was timely, bringing capacity building and training so we could design education finance to truly serve schools.”
With Opportunity EduFinance’s support, Amenfiman developed tailored school improvement and school fee loan products, trained relationship officers and managers on school lending, and instituted a dedicated manager for EduFinance to guide schools through documentation and compliance with regulators such as Ghana’s Registrar General and the National Schools Inspectorate. These operational changes strengthened credit processes—making it possible for more schools to qualify for financing and invest in better learning environments for students.
Ivy Esther Nemeh, product manager for Education Finance at Amenfiman, explains: “After the School Leadership Academy, we launched post-workshop visits to over 105 schools, answering their questions on loan processes and requirements. The feedback has been positive; schools are now documenting purchases and creating additional income streams.”
What Education Finance Makes Possible for Student
The impact of these efforts is visible in the lives of children and communities. At Nyarkua Aburanoma Preparatory School, distance was a persistent barrier. With their school improvement loan, the school purchased a bus and built a modern computer lab. Enrollment jumped from 400 to 614 students in one academic year. “It proves that sometimes the smallest investments yield the most profound returns,” said Charles Kubi, founder, Nyarkua Aburanoma Preparatory School.
Similar stories abound. A school at Takwa Harbor used their loan to make visible upgrades that impressed both the bank and the community, prompting stronger parent confidence. Another school obtained financing to buy a bus, increasing enrollment from around 400 to over 600, demonstrating how targeted capital directly increases the number of seats available to learners. Amenfiman also supported New Corporate School to establish a STEM program, boosting enrollment and expanding learning opportunities for hundreds of children.
Overcoming Barriers
These successes did not come without challenges. Many schools operate without proper registration or land documentation, limiting their eligibility for credit—a barrier that targeted technical assistance can help overcome. “As a business, we can’t lend to schools operating informally,” Ivy Nemeh explains. “Our role is to guide them through registration and documentation, so they can access facilities and invest in classrooms, buses, and computer labs that improve learning conditions.” By appointing a dedicated EduFinance manager, Amenfiman now coaches schools on compliance, connects them with the Registrar General and relevant education authorities, and helps them prepare bank-ready files. This practical guidance translates into more approved loans and better outcomes.
Why Flexible Capital Matters
Our EduFinance’s model blends bank capacity building and school management training. For Amenfiman, Opportunity EduFinance trained relationship officers and branch managers to assess school cashflows, seasonal income patterns, and project viability—skills different from standard business lending—while Opportunity’s School Leadership Academy workshops taught school leaders financial management, revenue diversification, and documentation. Together, these raise portfolio quality while increasing impact.
“Every year our collaboration deepens, with capacity building, product refinement, and international exposure,” says Charles Damuah. “We’re preparing to scale with stronger portfolio management next year.”
Amenfiman’s leadership voices a clear invitation to donors, stating, “Our pricing reflects the high cost of mobilizing rural deposits,” Charles emphasizes. “Cheaper, flexible capital from funding partners would let us pass affordability to schools because the impact is undeniable: more children formed, informed, and enrolled.” Ivy adds, “Donor funding at lower rates would help us lend at terms schools can afford, enabling faster expansion of classrooms, buses, and learning materials and deeper impact in our communities.”
Opportunity EduFinance’s data points to scalable results, indicating millions of children accessing better schooling, thousands of schools improving quality, and hundreds of banks entering education lending with tailored products and risk tools.
What’s happening in Ghana reflects a broader opportunity: when banks, schools, and donors work together, education systems can grow sustainably from within.
Opportunity International’s Education Finance team is unlocking local finance for education, with Amenfiman Rural Bank showing how a trained, school-focused lender can convert technical assistance into real-world outcomes with documented, credit-ready schools; appropriate loan products; hands-on portfolio support; and tangible gains like buses, labs, and STEM programs that increase enrolment and improve learning. This model offers a scalable path to get more children into better schools, sustainably, at speed, and with measurable results.