Education
Why we invest in this sector
It’s crucial that each industry has the workers it needs. Without building the workforce – through education and training – industries won’t develop or be able to reach their full potential. And better education leads to higher individual income and better social capital.
That’s why education drives economic growth, while also being key to lifting individuals out of poverty.
Our strategic focus
Our strategic focus in the education sector focuses on three areas:
Education for employment: Suppliers of core and supplementary education for young people and adults. This includes school education for adults, higher education, distance learning, technical and vocational education and training (TVET), skilling and future education and corporate training.
EdTech: Companies that provide tech solutions that enable learning both in school and out of school
Sector development: Companies that provide teacher training and professional development, curriculum content and assessments, and education financing.
Many of the investment opportunities in these three areas will typically be less than $10 million. This means that most of our new investments will be through funds that can make smaller investments.
However, some opportunities are large enough for direct investment. Our first priorities for direct investments are in services-focused education technology companies, higher education and distance learning, TVET, and source-train-deploy companies.
Products
We provide a range of capital solutions in this sector
Equity
Ticket Size ($) 10-50m+- We provide flexible, tailor-made equity solutions
- We usually take significant minority equity stakes
- We can participate in consortiums and also work alongside co-investment partners
Debt
Ticket Size ($) 10-50m+- We tailor bespoke credit solutions to requirements, ranging from senior to mezzanine debt
- We typically fund long-term expansion capex projects and/or working capital requirements
- Tenor typically up to 7-10 years, sometimes longer, with flexibility on structuring of credit terms (including grace periods, interest capitalisation etc.)
- Deep expertise across Africa and Asia, including in-country execution in India, Nigeria and Kenya
- We can work with co-investment partners, banks, credit funds and other DFIs
Funds
Ticket Size ($) Varies- We partner with established or first-time managers in Africa and Asia that take both majority and significant minority stakes in companies, ranging from SMEs to large cap
- We back fund managers that have broad strategies, including adult, vocational or tertiary education, and EdTech
- Accessibility and affordability are key factors we look for in underlying investments
- Some of our managers have invested in or set up the first private universities in their countries
- Others have developed partnerships with leading global universities and institutes
- We aim to be a reliable co-invest partner to our GPs, able to follow their lead or work alongside them
