Bolstering Education and Opportunities for Kenyan Schoolchildren
December 17, 2013
(OPIC)
OPIC and Bridge International Building Affordable Schools in Kenya
Washington, DC – The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Bridge
International Academies today announced their commitment to build and operate
237 affordable schools throughout Kenya. The schools, estimated to educate
300,000 children by 2022, will be supported by a ten-year, $10 million loan from
OPIC.
The schools will 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.
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.
“OPIC is proud to support Bridge International Academies and its mission to
provide high-quality and affordable education to students in Kenya” said OPIC
President and CEO Elizabeth L. Littlefield. “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.
“We are tremendously excited about this partnership,” said Bridge International
Academies Co-founder and CEO Jay Kimmelman. “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.”
Welcome to the Exporting Source
Your one-stop resource for finding help to export to new customers, to learn about government export programs, to join export-promoting trade missions, to sign up for trade conferences and training, and to link to other exporting services. Whether you're an old hand at exporting or just getting started, the Exporting Source provides a place to locate foreign customers, export financing and foreign investment assistance.