Participants Collaborate on Ways to Get and Keep More Children in Affordable Private Schools By Expanding Capital and Capacity Building

NAIROBI, KENYA, December 13, 2022 – Opportunity International, a leading global nonprofit focused on improving access to and quality of education in low-cost private schools, hosted a three-day Global Education Finance Conference in Nairobi where 155 attendees came together from 37 countries to discuss ways that financial inclusion and holistic school development can unlock access to quality education for millions of children. Attendees included financial institutions, impact investors, development finance institutions including the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, bilateral funders including USAID Missions, and researchers.

Opportunity’s Education Finance (EduFinance) program partners with financial institutions and school owners to provide access to capital and training for school leaders and teachers, boosting their capacity to deliver a quality education for students in low-income communities. It also enables parents to access school fee loans to cover their children's tuition, books, uniforms, and supplies.

“It was an honor to bring together these global partners for peer learning and to see bankers from Asia, Africa and Latin America sitting side-by-side, discussing the role their institutions can play in financing affordable education in the communities they serve,” said Andrew McCusker, Head of EduFinance. “Convenings like this set the stage for rapid and sustainable improvements to our shared goal of helping students gain access to a better education.”

“Schools, parents and children need so much support, and it is very inspiring to be part of a such global movement,” said Emilio Garcia, General Director, COOPSAMA R.L. Guatemala. “Seeing so many partners [here from] around the world investing in education has reinforced my belief. This is a unique moment to be part of the future of education.”

In 2022, Opportunity International celebrated reaching 10 million children since the program’s inception and investing over $500 million of capital into more than 38,000 schools across Africa, Asia and Latin America. In September, the EduFinance program was also given a WISE Award, which honors the impact made in global communities and on the international education sector as a whole.

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY INTERNATIONAL 

Opportunity International is a global non-profit celebrating 51 years of equipping people with tools and business solutions to work their way out of poverty. Opportunity provides 18.7 million families with innovative financial resources, training, and support to grow their small businesses and send their children to school. In 2021, Opportunity International and its partners released $2 billion in capital across 30 countries and helped fund 8,400 schools that reached 2 million children. Since its founding in 1971, Opportunity International has loaned over $19 billion, and 95 percent of the organization’s clients are women.              

Discover more at opportunity.org or join the conversation on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.