Andrew McCuskerHead of Opportunity EduFinance (UK)

Andrew McCusker is the Global Head of Education Finance at Opportunity International. He leads the organisation’s global strategy to expand access to affordable, quality education through innovative financial solutions. He oversees a $553 million education finance portfolio operating across 32 countries and leads a globally distributed team of more than 100 staff across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Andrew’s work focuses on mobilising and deploying blended finance at scale, combining grants, debt, equity, and results-based capital, to strengthen education systems and improve learning outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. To date, he has helped mobilise more than $1.1 billion in capital to education markets, supporting financing for thousands of schools and reaching more than 17 million children with improved educational opportunities.

Under Andrew’s leadership, Opportunity EduFinance has scaled rapidly while strengthening evidence of impact. Program evaluations have demonstrated statistically significant improvements in student learning outcomes, including literacy and numeracy gains in supported schools, where access to finance has been paired with targeted school quality and leadership interventions.

Andrew has extensive experience working with institutional investors, development finance institutions, bilateral donors, foundations, and philanthropic partners. His achievements include structuring a $100 million debt facility with an institutional investor, raising more than $25 million in USAID funding through policy engagement on non-state education, and leading a $50 million Series E equity raise with DFIs and impact investors. He regularly represents Opportunity International at global forums on education finance, impact investing, and development policy.

Prior to joining Opportunity International, Andrew led corporate finance and capital planning at NewGlobe (formerly Bridge International Academies), where he supported global expansion and investor engagement for a large-scale education delivery organisation. Earlier in his career, he spent seven years at Goldman Sachs as an Executive Director in Global Investment Research, advising institutional investors on infrastructure and utilities investments across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance Honours) from the University of Melbourne and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He is recognised internationally for his leadership in education finance and regularly contributes to global dialogue on blended finance, education systems, and the Sustainable Development Goals.