Enko Education closes first institutional financing round with Proparco and I&P

A fund raising to develop over thirty schools in Africa
After two successful schools launches in Cameroon and Mozambique and an acquisition in South Africa, Enko Education will be opening three new secondary schools in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire at the start of the September 2016 school term. Within the next five years, Enko Education expects to open over thirty schools, predominantly in francophone and Southern Africa.

An innovative economic model
Founded by Cyrille Nkontchou and Eric Pignot, Enko Education is developing a pan-African network of international private schools, accessible to the middle and upper classes.
Enko Education’s economic model relies on partnerships with local private schools. The local partner brings knowledge of the local education system, connections with school parents and infrastructures to the table. Enko Education provides education engineering, innovative teaching methods and curricula to obtain “International Baccalaureate” (IB) certification within a year. Enko Education is also responsible for the schools’ development and management (hiring of a highly experienced head of school and teaching staff, student enrolment, school administration, etc.).

The launchpad to the world’s top universities
The ambition of Enko Education’s schools is to enable young and talented Africans to enrol in the best international universities by giving them a cost-effective access to an internationally-recognized curriculum. By adopting an asset-light strategy and providing extensive training to local teachers, Enko Education is able to charge schools fees which are on average a quarter of those charged by other IB schools in Africa. Although Enko Education targets the growing African middle class, the company aims to enrol 10-20% of students from economically disadvantaged students backgrounds in its schools through a scholarship programme.

A first institutional financing round
The investment made by Proparco and I&P, Enko Education’s first institutional financing round, will enable Enko Education to finance the first years of operation of its existing schools as well as the launch of new schools in 2016 and 2017
The equity raised will support the development of a quality education offer by a private player targeting the African middle class and will complement the efforts being made by governments, assisted by AFD, Proparco’s parent company. This initiative will, in the long run, create over 1,300 jobs, half of which being teachers who will receive extensive training.

About Enko Education
Enko Education is a pan-African network of secondary schools that aims to democratise access to quality education of an international standard for the African population. Enko Education builds on the educational programs of the International Baccalaureate. It provides students with a holistic education that is learner-centred and provides a monitoring and support structure for students as well as counselling in their choice of field specialisation and targeted universities to which they want and can be directed. Enko Education is present in Cameroon, South Africa, Mozambique and Côte d’Ivoire.
For more information, visit www.enkoeducation.com or contact Eric Pignot, co-founder (eric@enkoeducation.com).

About Proparco
Proparco – a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement (AFD) devoted to private-sector funding – has been supporting sustainable economic, social and environmental development for almost 40 years. Operating in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, the institution provides loans, makes equity investments and provides guarantees to help finance and support financial institutions and corporate private-sector projects. Proparco focuses on the key development areas, such as renewable energy-based infrastructure, agribusiness, financial institutions, health and education. Through its work, Proparco seeks to strengthen the contribution of private enterprise to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the international community in 2015. To do so, Proparco supports companies likely to create jobs, supply essential goods and services and, more broadly, help reduce poverty and mitigate climate change. Proparco is one of Europe’s leading development finance institutions, and spearheads a large number of joint programs with its peers.
For more information, visit www.proparco.fr

About I&P
Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) is an impact investment group dedicated to African Small and Medium Enterprises. Since its creation in 2002, I&P has invested in more than 50 companies, located in 15 African countries and operating in various sectors of activity (health, transport, microfinance…). These enterprises create local “added value” and long-term employment, and generate important social, environmental and governance impact. Created by Patrice Hoppenot and headed by Jean-Michel Severino since 2011, the I&P team comprises about thirty collaborators in Paris and in its six African offices in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Madagascar. More information found at www.ietp.com