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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
Aya Moukala
Elodie Hanff Koundouno
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
 I&P makes its first funding in Togo: Lomé Business SchoolNews | 17/12/2021Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), which is specialized in financing and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in several sub-Saharan African countries, has taken a new step forward with the funding of its first company in Togo. Read the press release ... |
 I&P publishes its second global impact reportNews | 20/12/2021 Investisseurs & Partenaires publishes the second edition of its annual impact report, a summary of our impact mission and the most significant achievements and progress made in 2021. In a time period strongly marked by the Covid-19 crisis, I&P's teams have grown stronger, new... |
 A retrospective on the Education Forum organized by Ashoka in Dakar, with the participation of the I&P Education and Employment teamNews | 03/12/2021 The NGO Ashoka Sahel, in partnership with the Education and Cooperation Foundation (EDUCO), organized the Education Forum on November 4 and 5, 2021, in Dakar. This forum brought together more than 60 actors of the educational community. Fatoumata Thiam, Business Manager of... |
 I&P's quaterly newsletter, with an editorial signed by Mariam Djibo of Advans Côte d'IvoireNews | 04/11/2021The newsletter of the last quarter of 2021 is online! In this issue are notably included: • An editorial signed by Mariam Djibo, Director of Advans Côte d'Ivoire (below) • A review of the first regional workshop dedicated to train incubators in West Africa, organized by the program I&P... |
 I&P takes the floor at Advans Côte d'Ivoire's special Education Meet-upNews | 13/09/2021 The beginning of school is a key moment in Ivorian society. It is also an opportunity to question the national education system's evolution. On September 10, 2021, Advans Côte d'Ivoire, a microcredit company for SMEs, gathered a panel for their event called "Special Meet-up" around a... |
 In partnership with Mastercard Foundation, I&P launches the Education to Employment program in Abidjan.News | 28/10/2021 On Thursday, October 21, 2021, I&P in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, presented the I&P Education to Employment (IP2E) program during a conference debate on the theme "Financing the education sector in Côte d'Ivoire". More information about Education to Employment... |
 African education institutions to be strengthened through I&P Education to Employment (IP2E) and Mastercard Foundation partnershipNews | 03/02/2021 Today, Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), via I&P Education to Employment (IP2E), announced a partnership with the Mastercard Foundation that will support businesses in the education sector to recover from the impact of COVID-19. Find out more about our program I&P... |
 Presentation of the feasibility study for the creation of a first impact fund dedicated to education in AfricaNews | 11/10/2019Presented exclusively in July 2019 at the Sorbonne, the feasibility study on education in Africa was published by the Fondation pour Études et Recherches sur le Développement International (FERDI). The conduct of this study is a key step in the implementation of the first impact programme dedicated... |
 Supporting Education in Africa: Key Takeaways from the Feasibility Study Conducted by FERDI, in Partnership with I&P and MonacoNews | 11/07/2019 In January 2019, Investisseurs & Partenaires and the Government of Monaco signed a partnership agreement to create the first impact fund dedicated to education in Africa. A key component of the partnership consisted in carrying out a feasibility study, conducted by the Foundation... |
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