Education
We are closing the education gap in East Africa by improving access to quality learning for low-income communities.
- East Africa
Our global impact in education
Access to quality learning changes lives.
Quality education opens up pathways out of poverty but so often low-income families lack high-quality, affordable options, which leads to high dropout and youth unemployment rates.
Acumen made its first education investment in 2012 in Hippocampus, an Indian company that trained women to become early childhood educators in rural areas. We’ve since found success in sector enablers, such as school management software and school finance.
With the experience we’ve gained from over a decade of investing across four regions, we’ve learned that education needs to be tackled holistically. It is not enough to focus only on students, or teachers, or testing. It takes a mix of public and private sector solutions and more radical collaboration.
This is why in East Africa we have applied a holistic systems lens to our education investment work. We invest across an ecosystem that includes students, parents, teachers, and schools for more effective outcomes.
East Africa Education Facility
In East Africa, many poor families struggle to afford the cost of education. We invest in education startups that have the greatest impact on education quality and access for low-income students.
Kenya Education Market Research Summary
Entrepreneurs and investors need reliable, clear market insights to inform decision-making. However, there is a lack of this data in Kenya. To address this need, Acumen led a process to gather market-oriented insights on the desires, motivations, perceptions, and willingness to pay for key education stakeholders.
More about Acumen
Where we work
A global presence with local expertise. Explore our work across five key sectors and nine regions.
Problems we solve
We’re tackling problems of poverty in agriculture, education, energy, healthcare, and workforce.