Application Deadline:
25th March 2022
Tell Me About Swiss Gov’t Impact-Linked Fund for Education:
Despite strong progress over the past decades, ensuring an inclusive, quality education (SDG 4) to vulnerable children and youth across the globe is far from reality. The economic and social crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic aggravated this alarming gap. Even before the pandemic, high-impact enterprises already were important drivers of change, since they cover the unmet needs of students and teachers and offer high-quality, free, and often technology-enabled education solutions such as mobile-phone based learning or artificial intelligence assistance.
Getting access to capital is a challenge for these enterprises, though. This is why the Impact-Linked Fund for Education will provide suitable, innovative financing instruments in the form of Social Impact Incentives and Impact-Linked Loans to high-impact organizations offering inclusive and equitable education for vulnerable children and youth in MENA and West Africa Region. In addition, a substantial amount of the fund’s target volume will be reserved for technical assistance, research and advocacy measures, which will further boost the effectiveness of this innovative approach.
What Type of Scholarship is this?
Grants
Who can apply for Swiss Gov’t Impact-Linked Fund for Education?
- Scope: The organization must be operational for at least three years and operate in one of the target countries (see below). In order to be eligible for SIINC, organizations must be seeking a repayable investment (e.g. debt, equity, etc.) in parallel. There are no specific additional requirements for the Impact-Linked Loans.
- Business model: Although there are no specific constraints regarding the legal form, the organizations need to have a business model and generate revenues from their activities.
- Financial sustainability: The objective of the ILF for Education program is to support organizations that will continue to generate positive impact long after the SIINC payments or the Impact-Linked Loan have ended. Thus, the organization must have either already achieved financial sustainability, or must have a clear plan for achieving it (through market-based commercial channels, public contracting, or other self-sustaining revenue generation activities).
- Impact measurement: The support provided to the organization in this program takes the form of time-bound outcomes-based payments (for SIINC) or interest rate reductions (for Impact-Linked Loans), granted to incentivize positive social impact. In order to design a realistic incentive schedule, it is necessary to have baseline data related to the impact generated by the organization. In that respect, there are two possible scenarios:
(1) The organization already has baseline data of systematically tracked and reported impact indicators, which can act as a basis for structuring the SIINC payments or the Impact-Linked Loan.
- The organization is immediately eligible to obtain impact-linked financing.
(2) The organization doesn’t yet have this track record, but is able and willing to put systems in place to develop it, and then continue monitoring the organization’s impact over time.
- The Impact-Linked Fund for Education will provide TA (technical assistance) to high-potential companies in the form of training and support in developing personalized impact measurement systems. Such companies will then be eligible to obtain Impact-Linked Finance either via an accelerated process, or through a subsequent call for proposal, scheduled for July/August 2022.
Impact focus
Organizations that target vulnerable children and youth will be of particular interest. Organizations that do not have a specific impact focus are also eligible if they prove to be willing and able to deliver positive social outcomes for such target populations. The focus of the ILF for Education window lies around improving access to basic education, and learning outcomes of pre-primary, primary and secondary students (K12), including non-formal basic education opportunities (eg. accelerated or catch-up education, remedial education etc.). The window is also open to organizations contributing to bridging education gaps for youth and adults on skills such as literacy/numeracy.
While a technological aspect as part of the organization’s business model is appreciated (EdTech companies), we also encourage providers of non-technological products and services to apply as well.
Which Countries are Eligible?
Target countries: West Africa and MENA (Middle East and North Africa). More specifically, the following countries are in scope: West Africa: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger / MENA: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Occupied Palestinian Territory.
How Many Grants will be Given?
Not specified
What is the Benefit of Swiss Gov’t Impact-Linked Fund for Education?
The overall objective of the ILF for Education is to provide impact-linked funding to impact organizations active in the Education sector in West Africa and the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), thus enabling them to scale both in economic as well as impact terms. The fund will support impact organizations with two different Impact Linked Finance mechanisms: Social Impact Incentives (SIINC), and Impact-Linked Loans, for amounts ranging from USD 150K to USD 500K.
How to Apply for Swiss Gov’t Impact-Linked Fund for Education:
Apply here
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