International Agencies to Build Affordable Schools Locally in Kenya

Overseas Private Investment Corporation

THE Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Bridge International Academies have announced their commitment to build and operate 237 affordable schools throughout the country.

The schools, estimated to educate 300 000 children by 2022, will be supported by a ten-year, $10 million loan from OPIC.

The schools are poised to significantly expand low-cost education in Kenya as well as provide high quality education to rural and poor urban children while using innovative technology to manage operations and classroom lessons.

While helping to develop the country's education sector and providing educational opportunities to underserved populations, the project will also create hundreds of jobs and provide professional development training for its employees, the organisations said.

OPIC President and Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Littlefield, said OPIC was proud to support Bridge International Academies and its mission to provide high-quality and affordable education to students in Kenya.

“This project has the potential to substantially and positively impact the development paths of hundreds of thousands of young people in these communities, changing the future of their communities as well,” Littlefield added.

Bridge International Academies Co-founder and CEO, Jay Kimmelman, said the organisation was excited about the partnership.

“OPIC has spent the past 40 years solving critical challenges in developing countries.

"We are proud to have their financing, as well as their legacy, support us as we work to give every child the opportunity to a quality education. Together, we will democratize access to exceptional education in Kenya,” said Kimmelman.

Bridge International Academies is the world's largest network of nursery and primary schools, offering high-quality and affordable education to families living on less that $2 a day per person.

Its innovative for-profit model has been designed and successfully tested to provide a sustainable, scalable approach to education.

On average, children in Africa perform at the 3rd percentile academically compared to children from developed countries.

Bridge International Academies works to close this gap through a network of outstanding-quality schools that cost less than $6 a month per student.

As of September this year, there are 212 Bridge International Academies in Kenya, with over 50 000 pupils enrolled, and the company is growing at a rate of one new academy every three days.

Ten years from now, the organisation plans to be operating in at least 12 and empower 10 million pupils.

OPIC works with the United States private sector, helping the country's businesses gain footholds in emerging markets catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad.