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Our work > Our funds and programs > I&P Expansion > I&P Education to Employment
Overview
I&P Education and Employment (IP2E) is a pioneering impact financing program launched in 2021 that aims to improve access to quality education and strengthen the training-employment match in Africa, in order to ensure better employment opportunities. IP2E finances and supports companies in the education ecosystem.
The program finances and supports companies in the education ecosystem and targets 13 African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
The program in details
OUR IMPACT THESIS
Promoting African youth employability and empowerment through impactful, innovative, and responsive financing models addressing the different challenges of education in terms of quality, access, and equity.
OUR SOLUTION
⇒ An additional investment approach through a rigorous due diligence process and strategic support to strengthen the business model and ensure financial sustainability and scaling up of the funded companies;
⇒ Catalytic funds adapted to the education sector using concessional/blended finance tools: interest-free loan, equity, quasiequity,
technical assistance, grant, matching funds.
OUR OBJECTIVES
- Digitalization - Support companies in the effective deployment of their digitization strategy.
- Social inclusion - Setting up mechanisms to ensure access to education for vulnerable youth, especially young women.
- Safeguarding - Implementation of effective learner protection policies and practices
- Impact measure - Assessment and monitoring of the professional integration of graduates/beneficiaries..
- Advocacy - Promoting knowledge sharing and dialogue among key players in the education sector.
Partners of the project
The program is supported by Mastercard Foundation, the European Union, and the Government of Monacoas financial backers, and by FERDI (Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International) as an academic partner.
⇒ The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management.
⇒ The European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa was established in 2015 to develop a comprehensive approach to stability, security, and resilience and to prevent irregular migration and forced displacement. EU institutions, EU Member States, and other donors have so far allocated €4.6 billion to the Africa Emergency Trust Fund. With actions combining economic and social development cooperation, humanitarian aid, and crisis response programs, the EUSTF uses an integrated security-development approach, offering a comprehensive and integrated response to the needs of the people of the Sahel and Lake Chad countries.
⇒ The Government of the Principality’s international development policy, which prioritizes combatting poverty, supports more than 130 projects every year in 11 partner countries, primarily least-developed countries. The aid focuses on four key areas of intervention to develop human capital - health, education, socio-economic integration and since 2018 food security - and prioritizes the most vulnerable populations (women, children, refugees, people with disabilities).
⇒ The Foundation for Studies and Research on International Development (FERDI), was created in 2003 on the initiative of CERDI (University of Auvergne and CNRS). Its purpose is to promote a fuller understanding of international economic development and the factors that influence it. It supports research activities that make use of the most modern and most directly relevant instruments of economics to study development and seeks to strengthen the potential of the French-speaking world in this area.
The technical assistance partners provide solutions in digitalization (Etudesk), social inclusion (Chancen International), advocacy (Catholic Relief Service) and impact measurement (60 Decibels) areas.
"THE EDUPRENEURS OF SUBSAHARAN AFRICA" - Key findings, challenges, and recommendations
I&P, in collaboration with the government of Monaco, conducted a capitalization study on educational entrepreneurs, entitled "The Edupreneurs of Sub-Saharan Africa", whose conclusions identified fundamental issues for building a quality education sector on the continent.
The study highlights committed and audacious "edupreneurs" who are working to strengthen the education system and ensure that it is accessible to as many people as possible. Through the stories of entrepreneurs, students, experts, recruiters, and academic partners, the study identified 17 challenges, classified into 5 key areas for building a quality education sector: employability, quality, accessibility, gender equity, and financial sustainability.
Download the study
Program portfolio companies
The program is designed for start-ups and small businesses that meet the following criteria:
- Young company, SME, start-ups with a legal status
- Operating for or in higher education, vocational training or ancillary activities
- Presenting a strategy of medium- to long-term financial viability, focused on the professional integration of young people, digitalization and/or social inclusion
The team
Fatoumata THIAM
Koumba Anouma
Manuela BOMA-ATTA
Marina Aka
OluDele Sonekan
Régis Ouattara
Régis Ouattara
Régis joined the team in July 2022. Based in Abidjan, he is the Seed Funding Manager of I&P Acceleration in Sahel / I&P Education and Employment.
...See more
Between September 2018 and May 2019, FERDI has conducted a feasibility study in order to guide on the strategy of conception of the impact fund. The study focused specifically on:
⇒ Gaining a better understanding of the African challenges in the sector of education
⇒ Identifying good educational practices that can be developed and spread more widely by the private sector
⇒ Analyzing the economic models of private operators in education
⇒ Reflecting on the role and potential contributions of impact investors in the sector
Discover the feasibility study
Download the executive summary: in French | in English
One of Investisseurs & Partenaires' objectives is to promote gender equality within SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa. At a time when eight out of ten women in sub-Saharan Africa are in vulnerable employment (compared with 6.7 men), 3 Senegalese educational establishments (CAIF, USSD and ESTM) working to promote female inclusion and supported by the I&P Education and Employment program opened their doors to us.
Students, financiers, educational experts, entrepreneurs... Fabricia, Koumba, Julienne-Axelle, Adji, Khadidjatou, Sokhna, talk to us about the importance of access to higher education and vocational training.
Starting in 2021, the I&P Education to Employment program, the result of a partnership between Investisseurs & Partenaires and Mastercard Foundation, supports educational entrepreneurs ("édupreneurs") in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal.
In Ghana, two establishments (Codetrain and OpenLabs) train young people in various digital professions, with a view to employment in a rapidly changing field.
The I&P Education to Employment program aims to improve the employability of Africa's youth through better access to quality education and training, adapted to the needs of the job market. Here's a look at some concrete examples of impact investing in education and vocational training, from Côte d'Ivoire to Madagascar.
Latest News
 Publication of the impact report of I&P Education and Employment program (IP2E): Three years of commitment to inclusive and vocational education in West AfricaNews | 03/02/2025Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) is proud to announce the publication of the impact report of the I&P Education and Employment Programme (IP2E), an ambitious programme dedicated to improving access to quality education and reducing the gap between training and employment in West Africa... |
 Report: The impact of Private Educational companies on Youth Employability in AfricaNews | 28/06/2024 I&P continues its commitment to the education sector with the publication of a new and unprecedented report on youth employability in Africa, based on the initial results of its I&P Education and Employment (IP2E) program. Funded by the Mastercard Foundation, this program has... |
 Maximizing Social Inclusion: The Contribution of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) to the I&P Education and Employment ProgramNews | 29/04/2024Social inclusion is an essential pillar of development, aimed at ensuring that all individuals, whatever their origin or situation, participate in and have equitable access to educational and professional opportunities. Social inclusion in the education system is one of the subjects at the heart... |
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 Unlocking Catalytic Capital for African SMEs: discover our new reportNews | 10/10/2023 In a new report entitled “Using Catalytic Capital to Foster African Entrepreneurs in Underserved Markets,” published in partnership with the Catalytic Capital Consortium, I&P showcases the effectiveness of catalytic capital in supporting African SMEs, offering recommendations to... |
 How to support the acceleration phase of small businesses in the Sahel region : I&P publishes lessons from I&P Acceleration in Sahel’s mid-term evaluationNews | 02/05/2023Since 2019 with the support of the European Union, I&P has been preparing small and medium-sized enterprises in the Sahelian sub-region for investment through the I&P Acceleration in the Sahel program. Three years after its launch, I&P is proud to present the first lessons of the... |
 I&P Education to Employment : The "Edupreneurs" of Sub-Saharan Africa - AccraNews | 23/05/2023 On Thursday, May 18, 2023, Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) organized an event, in Accra, for the release of the English version study « The Edupreneurs of Sub-Saharan Africa ». For many years, I&P has supported educational entrepreneurs ("Edupreneurs... |
 I&P publishes its Annual Impact ReportNews | 13/12/2022 I&P is pleased to present its Annual Impact Report, that presents the collective results of our different programs and funds. The report presents an overview of I&P's activities and impact methodology and goes through our six impact pillars : developing Africa entrepreneurship... |
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 Entrepreneurial Portrait : Elliot AGYARE, Smartline Publishers - GhanaEntrepreneurs | 24/10/2022 With over 1.5 million units sold, 350 titles published, a network of 120 secondary schools across the country, and displays on renowned e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Jumia, African Books Collective, etc. Smartline is well on its way to achieving its ambition of becoming a leading... |