Education Finance: Getting More Children into Better Schools Spring 2023
2023–2025 EDUCATION FINANCE STRATEGIC GOALS To reach an additional 9.1 million children with $421M in education loans disbursed in 29 countries—getting more learners in better schools.
OUR GRATITUDE Thanks to your belief in Opportunity International’s work in education, 2022 was by far our fastest growth year, welcoming 51 new education market lending partners across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. EduFinance advisors completed technical assistance projects with over 40 financial institutions (45% Africa; 30% Asia; 25% Latin America). Our local partners loaned out $58M in School Improvement Loans—which created over 230,000 additional school seats— and $31M in School Fee Loans. Thank you for supporting education, such a critical pathway out of extreme poverty and into sustainable livelihoods.
THE NEED Globally 264 million children are currently out of school; a further 353 million children who go to school don’t learn basic literacy and math skills. We know that lack of access to education is a global emergency that impacts current and future generations. To end extreme poverty tomorrow, we must educate children today.
THE SOLUTIONS Our response is clear and active: get more children in better schools. Our program breaks down two obstacles to education: access and quality. Since Opportunity’s program launched ten years ago, over 10 million children in 30 countries have gotten access to a quality education and over half a billion dollars have been invested in education. To tackle obstacles of access and quality, we work via two different pathways: ► Education Finance (EduFin) work helps educators, their schools, and parents access financial resources to improve schools and provide school fee loans enabling all children in a family to attend school. ► Education Quality (EduQuality) encompasses a holistic three-year program based on a selfassessment tool. Educators diagnose the quality of the school and then create and implement school development plans. EduQuality interventions are delivered through a blended learning model that combines digital content and interactive in-person training and support.
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