Enko Education

Debt : September 2018

Enko Education has designed an innovative cost-effective model of secondary international schools, offering the International Baccalaureate (IB), providing the local students with a launchpad to the world’s best universities.

Amount

€ 2,000,000.00

Type of investment

Debt

Development impacts

Local economic growth
Private sector consolidation/innovation
Access to basic services & goods

Beneficiary locations

Sub-Saharan Africa: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa

Investment field

Enterprises

Activity

Health & Education - Education

Organisation

Enko Education

Website

https://www.enkoeducation.com/

Enko Education’s mission is to increase access for African high-school graduates to the world’s leading universities through high quality international education. The company has designed an innovative cost-effective model of secondary international schools, offering the International Baccalaureate (IB), providing the local students with a launchpad to the world’s best universities.

The company was set up in 2013. So far, they have developed a network of 13 schools in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal and South Africa. BIO’s investment consisted of launching four schools and allowing the addition of two schools to the network.

The middle-class segment offers the largest potential for private education in Africa. There is a gap between low-fee private schools offering a national curriculum below USD 500 per month, and unaffordable international schools above USD 6,000. Enko Education is the only one that addresses this gap, making the IB accessible to Africa’s middle-class. Moreover, it offers scholarships to between 10 and 20% of its students to increase the access of those less well-off to outstanding international education. Enko Education builds local capacity by recruiting local teachers and training them intensively.

Story

My name is Bamidele Akinbo, I am the head of Enko La Gaieté International School, in Yaoundé, Cameroun.

When we started this school some two and a half years ago, it was quite challenging because we had no references, so it was difficult to promote the school. Despite this, some parents enrolled their children, and as I speak today, we have good results to show for it: 95% of our graduating class have received generous scholarship offers from top universities around the world.

I think Enko is unique to students because in Enko schools, students make sense of what they learn. They are able to engage, carry out research, contribute and have their own views. It’s not a one-way approach, where only the teacher talks and the students should sit and take notes.

I decided to join Enko Education because I think Enko Education is a platform through which I could give back to Africa. Having experienced first-hand the transformation the International Baccalaureate (IB) brings to students and teachers, I decided to come back to Africa to replicate the same.

We are probably one of the most affordable IB schools in the world. That, to me, is philanthropic in nature, it’s innovative, and it’s something that I really like to support.

Bamidele has lived in China, Mauritius and South Africa before moving to Cameroon as the founding Head of Enko La Gaieté International School, the first of the Enko Education network.

Development impacts

Local economic growth
By 2025, Enko Education foresees to employ over 870 teachers, creating considerable employment effects.
Private sector consolidation/innovation
Enko Education is providing a high-quality programme at a competitive price targeting the local population. By supporting the launch of 5 additional schools, BIO plays an important role in transferring know-how to local teachers in new countries.
Access to basic services & goods
Enko Education offers high-quality education to the local population.