Impact Story: Noor Grammar School, Pakistan
Founded in January 2016 by Sehrish Ikram, Noor Grammar School began with just 30 students and seven teachers. Sehrish's goal was to make quality education more accessible to children in her community, but she encountered numerous challenges from the start, including financial issues, managing school operations, and a lack of adequate teacher training. Despite these obstacles, Sehrish persevered, growing the school steadily over the years. By 2023, Noor Grammar School had expanded to 170 students…
Read MoreImpact Story: Muslim School of Science, Pakistan
Muslim School of Science was founded in March 2015 in the rural village of Basti Khuda Yar Wala, with the aim of providing a safe, accessible education to local children. Before the school opened, the nearest government school was located two kilometers away, a significant distance that raised security concerns for parents, especially for girls. As a result, many families hesitated to send their children to school, limiting their access to education. Starting with just 35 students and two teachers…
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EduFinance School Leadership Academy: Connecting 600 Nigerian School Leaders to Financing Opportunities
As Nigeria continues to experience rapid population growth, the role of education in shaping the nation’s future becomes increasingly critical. With over 40% of Nigeria’s 200 million people under the age of 15, the country’s school system is under immense pressure to deliver quality education. Over 8 million children are receiving education in non-state schools, which comprise an estimated 18% of Nigeria’s overall school system and are commonly run by sole proprietors offering affordable…
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Gender Equity in Education Finance: Business for Good
Opportunity EduFinance recently hosted a compelling webinar focused on advancing gender equity in education finance. The global education landscape reveals a striking disparity: while women make up the majority of educators at the pre-primary level, they remain significantly underrepresented in higher educational roles and leadership positions. This disparity extends to the financing of education in low- and middle-income countries, where gender-equitable approaches could unlock significant market…
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Unlocking Indonesia’s Affordable Non-State Schools’ Potential through Financial Institution Partnerships
Indonesia's education sector presents a significant opportunity to enhance educational access for children through innovative financial products. Indonesia is home to 71 million children under the age of 15, which means of the 271 million people that live in Indonesia, more than 1 in 4 are school-aged. Non-state schools make up a significant portion of the education system, reporting approximately 108,000 non-state schools constituting 43% of all schools. These schools dominate the lower-secondary…
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Transforming Education in Langbinsi: A Story of Growth and Resilience
In the heart of Langbinsi, a small community in the North East region of Ghana, lies ‘Charity Begins at Home Academy’. Established in 2003 by Moari Sulley, this school began with a simple yet profound vision: to provide accessible education to children who lacked the means to attend distant schools. Over the years, the academy has grown from serving a handful of students to nurturing the educational journey of 231 young learners today. "When I started the school, there was nothing but just a…
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Enhancing the EduQuality Program: Advancing Education for Inclusive Excellence
In anticipation of recently completing the three-year EduQuality program (‘Phase I’) with school partners in Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Colombia, the EduQuality team took the opportunity to review what is working well and what could be improved with program delivery and training content to ensure our partners receive the most relevant and impactful training and support. Our goal at Opportunity EduFinance is to get more children into better schools. We know that ‘quality’ education has many…
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Applying 4 Key Insights: Learning from EduQuality School Partners in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala
Click here for the Spanish version! The EduQuality program offered by Opportunity EduFinance recently completed an impactful first year of collaborating with affordable non-state schools in the Dominican Republic (DR) and Guatemala. As this is EduQuality’s first programming in these countries, the team participated in a Pause & Reflect session to review and share their understanding of school leaders' needs and the program's overall efficacy to date. Here are four key insights gleaned from our…
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Taleem Finance: Using a Gender-Centric Approach to Education Financing in Pakistan
Ms. Kousar Parveen is a widow and passionate ‘edupreneur’ – a common term for private school owners - in Multan, Pakistan. She defied societal norms by opening and running M.A Public Girls High School in a community where managing a business is considered a man's job. Established in 1998, her school provides quality education to economically challenged students, and the school’s income supports her own household. After five years into her career as a teacher, Ms. Kousar became aware of the…
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Innovative Financial Management Transforms School’s Sustainability in northern Ghana
In 2019, Daari Hawawu started Daari-Deara School in the Wa West District of the Upper West region in Ghana, with a noble mission to empower local children because she noticed many children of school-going age were not in school. However, financial struggles threatened the school’s existence until she partnered with the USAID-funded Advancing Partnerships for Improved Learning. The school started with 7 children under a mango tree near Daari’s house, and she struggled with getting their parents…
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