Kenya: Fanisi Capital to invest up to Ksh 400 MN in Kitengela International School

Fanisi Capital has today entered into an agreement to invest up to Ksh 400 million in Kitengela International School (KISC). The agreement will see Fanisi Capital initially invest Kshs 205 million.

(L-R) Fanisi Capital Co-Managing Partner Tony Wainaina, Kitengela International School Founder Paul Mwangangi, Fanisi Capital Co-Managing Partner & CEO Ayisi Makatiani and IFC – PE and Investment Funds Officer Maingi Mukando at Radisson Blu Hotel. 

The investment is the first from the Fanisi Capital Fund II LLC, a growth focused private equity fund with a target to raise Ksh 5 billion. The firm plans to continue making investments in high growth consumer sectors including healthcare, education, consumer goods and agribusiness.

 The deal is subject to approval by the Competition Authority.

Fanisi Capital’s Co-Managing Partner and Chief Executive, Ayisi Makatiani, said the school fits into the firm’s investment portfolio with its ambitious growth strategy to triple student population from the current 1,000 and open two more schools over the next five years.

“We are on a journey to build centres of academic excellence and expand their footprint,” said Mr Makatiani during the organisation’s investor briefing.

“We are in the final stages of fund-raising for Fanisi Capital Fund II, which has attracted interest from both local and international investors. Over 40 per cent of the investors in this fund are local with twelve local pension schemes coming on board,” he said.

In addition to World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC)and Norway’s Norfund, local investors include NSSF, and the pension schemes from Kenya Power, Barclays Bank, Zamara Fanaka Fund, Co-operative Bank, Laptrust and Central Bank of Kenya.

Kitengela International School was founded by Mr. Paul Mwagangi and opened its first doors on 5^th January 2009, with 8-4-4 curriculum mixed day and boarding Primary as well as a fully boarding Girls High School.  It has since expanded to four schools one of which offers British Curriculum the other being a second local curriculum primary school.

“I have always had a passion for education and ensuring that the next generation receives the best, that is what drove us to start this school.  We have seen organic growth in the past nine years to where we are today.  This partnership with Fanisi Capital will enable us to leap to the next step, and to expand our reach and capacity without compromising the quality of education we offer,” said Mr. Mwangangi.

This is the second group of schools Fanisi is investing in, having invested in Hillcrest International Schools in 2011.

“Education is a core sector for Fanisi and one in which we are looking to build a network of schools across the region. For Fanisi it is an objective for us to continue to positively impact businesses across the region and we are delighted to make this first investment under our Fund II,” Fanisi Capital Co-Managing Partner, Tony Wainaina, said.

Fanisi’s Fund I, which had Ksh 5 billion in assets, is fully invested in companies across the region including the Hillcrest Group of Schools and Ngare Narok Meat Industries in Kenya as well as  ProDev/Mimex Group in Rwanda, and Sophar in Rwanda among others.

 Fanisi Capital was founded in 2009 by the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) and Amani Capital Limited. The Fund focuses on post revenue and post EBITDA high growth companies with profits or clear path towards profits in the East African market (Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda). Fanisi makes direct investments across diverse industry sectors with emphasis on: Agri-Business, Healthcare, Retail/Consumer and Education.

Sierra Leone: President Bio Launches Free Education, Calls on Parents and Teachers to Support the Initiative

His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has officially launched the free quality pre-primary, primary and secondary education for government and government assisted schools starting 17 September 2018.

President Bio, in his keynote statement on the theme ‘Education for Development’ at the Miatta Conference Hall in Freetown, called on parents and teachers to support the initiative, noting that the introduction of his government’s flagship programme marked the beginning of free quality education in Sierra Leone and one that would be centered on development.

He averred that education was an investment for personal and national development, the foundation of moral regeneration, revival of the people as well as a strong pillar for the nation’s industries. He added that without quality education a nation cannot get the much needed manpower for socio-economic advancement.

“When I promised free and quality education, my opponents said it was a political gimmick. But today, I have proven them wrong. In less than six months, we have shown that free education is possible. I have always prioritised education as a means for development. As President, in order to demonstrate my commitment to education, my government has increased the budgetary allocation to education to 21 per cent of the national budget. Several other strides have been taken already in this short time to commence the implementation of free quality education programme across the country,” he said.

President Bio mentioned that in their early lives students should realise the importance of education and that it was imperative on parents to show their children that education was the ticket to fulfilling dreams as well as having a productive life. He therefore used the opportunity to call on teachers and parents to support the free education programme, adding that his government would take legal actions against parents who failed to send their children to school.

“While my government is ready to cover the expenses in paying tuition fees for students, providing textbooks, books, pens and pencils, sports equipment, rehabilitation of schools, provision of furniture, and the commencement of the school feeding programme in government and government assisted schools, we encourage parents, guardians and teachers to show commitment to the education of their children. It is the responsibility of teachers to teach properly and the duty of parents to ensure that the child goes to school, stays in school for the full day, and has time at home to do homework and rest. Subjecting the child to excessive chores, and sending them for trading instead of schooling will not be acceptable. In line with the 2004 Education Act, we will enforce and convict any parent who neglects to send their children to school,” he warned.

Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Alpha Timbo, observed that: “The waiver of fees for learning in any form will definitely ease the burden on parents and guardians who are making a lot of sacrifices under extremely difficult economic conditions to see their children become educated”.

United Kingdom Acting High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Colin Crorkin OBE, who spoke on behalf of World Bank, Irish Aid, World Food Programme and UNICEF as donor partners, congratulated the government for the initiative of a free quality education and commended the government for the bold step in increasing the budgetary allocation for education to 21 per cent of the country’s annual budget. He said the launch would mark the beginning of an exciting journey under the New Direction of which the UK government and its partners were ready to provide support.

“We are fully supportive of the free quality education. Our partners have been working closely with the Minister of Basic and Higher Education and we are pleased with the effort of the government. We are delighted to see free access for students attending government and government assisted schools and we are also happy to note that government has been able to meet the increased enrolment demands come September. We are ready to support the government’s efforts in providing the free quality education,” he said.

Following the plea by President Bio for everyone to support the programme, the First Lady Her Excellency Madam Fatima Bio also launched a multi-donor basket fund that would raise additional funds for the free education scheme. As he continued to lead by example, President Bio again used the occasion to pledge three months of his salary to support the free quality education programme.

Missed Opportunities: The High Cost of Not Educating Girls

Globally 89% of girls complete primary education, but only 77% complete lower secondary education, which in most countries is 9 years of schooling. In low income countries, the numbers drop to below 2/3 for primary education, and only 1/3 for lower secondary school.

The report says that limited educational opportunities for girls and barriers to completing 12 years of education cost countries between $15 trillion and $30 trillion dollars in lost lifetime productivity and earnings. The report finds out that primary education is not enough. Across many indicators, benefits from primary education only are limited.

The report estimates the global impact of depriving girls of education. Its findings show the transformative power of education for girls in six areas: (1) earnings and standards of living, (2) child marriage and early childbearing, (3) fertility and population growth, (4) health, nutrition and well-being, (5) agency and decision-making, and (6) social capital and institutions.

Earnings and standards of living: On average, women with secondary school education earn almost twice as much as those with no education at all.

Child marriage and early childbearing: Universal secondary education for girls could virtually eliminate child marriage (entering in a union before the age of 18) and as result substantially reduce the risk of early childbearing for women (having a first child before the age of 18).

Fertility and population growth: Universal secondary education for girls could reduce total fertility rates and lead to a reduction in global population.

Health, nutrition and well-being: In developing countries, universal secondary education for girls could increase women’s knowledge of HIV/AIDS and their ability to make decisions for their own healthcare. It could also improve their psychological well-being, reduce the risk of intimate partner violence, and reduce risks of under-five mortality and malnutrition for children.

Agency and decision-making: Universal secondary education for girls could increase women’s overall decision-making ability within their household. It could also increase their ability to assess quality of basic services and increase in likelihood of birth registration.

Social capital and institutions: Universal secondary education for girls could increase the ability of women to engage in altruistic behaviours, and their ability to rely on friends when in need. It could also increase their ability to assess institutions and services.

Many of the potential impacts of education on development outcomes apply to both boys and girls. But not educating girls is especially costly because of the relationships between education, child marriage, and early childbearing, and the risks that they entail for young mothers and their children.

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Article published courtesy of the World Bank

Sierra Leone: AWOL Pledges Support to President Bio’s Free Education Agenda

Chairman of All Works of Life Development Association (AWOL), Amb. Anthony Navo Jnr., has pledged that the organization would continue to complement the effort of the Government of Sierra Leone, especially in the area of education.

AWOL members pose with cross-section of pupils and teachers of Alton Hope School after the formal ceremony

Speaking on Saturday, 16^th June 2018, during celebration of Day of the African Child with pupils and teachers of the Alton Hope Primary and Secondary School at Old Wharf, Wellington, in the east of Freetown, Amb. Navo said AWOL has always put premium on education as the key to national development; hence their introduction of the Day of the African Child School Feeding and Awards Program.

“Since 2007 AWOL has been supporting the education sector through scholarships and the annual school feeding and awards program. So it is just natural that we support His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio’s Free Education agenda,” said Amb. Navo, who’s also the owner and Executive Chairman of Africa Young Voices Media Empire.

Incidentally, the foundation of the Alton Hope School was laid by President Bio when he was Head of State of the National Provisional Ruling Council in 1996.

According to the current Proprietor, Samuel Victor Solomon, President Bio further supported the construction and completion of the school and regularly provided food items for the pupils, who were mainly displaced by the rebel war.

“The school was founded by the Late Madam Julie Finney. It was nicknamed ‘Bulgur School’ because President Bio ensured the school never ran out of supplies,” explained Samuel.

However, Samuel alleged that in 2017 Government withdrew all the teachers from the school and even went to the extent of closing it down without any explanation.

Amb. Navo Jnr. noted that the Alton Hope School has a similar story to the Gondama School in Bo, as a refuge for displaced persons, especially children.  He promised that after completing the Gondama school project very soon, AWOL would endeavor to turn its attention to the Alton Hope School in terms of support.

Early in the day, AWOL first visited the Police Primary School at Kingtom and celebrated with the pupils and teachers there.

At both schools, Amb. Navo Jnr. gave a brief history of the formation of the development organization and its ideology and principles.

“At AWOL we are brothers and sisters from different backgrounds and professions who came together to give back to society and also to complement the effort of the Government of the day in nation building. That is why we support no political party but Sierra Leone as a whole,” said Amb. Navo.

Talking about the importance of the Day of the African Child, Dr. Ezekiel Duramany Lakkoh admonished the pupils to be inspired by the history of the day itself and to pursue their dreams in life.

“You should walk away from that bloody history and be free African children with your destinies in your hands,” said Dr. Lakkoh. He further urged the pupils to avoid ‘cliques and gangs’ if they wanted to be the future leaders their parents desired of them.

Speaking on the theme: “Education is the key”, the Secretary General of AWOL, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla, said the value of education to the welfare, well-being and development of children, as well as the country, cannot be over-emphasised.

“Where there’s education, there’s less ignorance; where there’s less ignorance, there’s less potential for conflict,” said Nasralla, quoting former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Nasralla admonished the pupils to pay attention and study hard; to respect their teachers and their parents/guardians; to respect their classmates, each other’s views and differences and to believe in their individual abilities.

Meanwhile, the heads of both schools lamented the constraints they are facing, ranging from lack of furniture to capacity building.

Founded in 1966, the Police Primary School is located at the Police barracks at Kingtom, but Head Teacher Elizabeth K. Allieu said they are receiving little or no support from the Sierra Leone Police. She said they need support for a library and completion of the school fence.

Similarly, the Proprietor of Alton Hope School said their teachers are not on Government pay roll and most of the classrooms are empty with no furniture.

Meanwhile, Amb. Navo Jnr. said AWOL will meet as a body and try to help.

Educating Girls, Ending Child Marriage

Every day, 41,000 girls marry before they are 18 years old. That’s 15 million girls every year. While child marriage can happen to both boys and girls, in most places around the world, the practice mostly affects girls.  

By keeping girls in school, girls would have a better chance for safety and security, to health and education, and to make their own life choices and decisions. Photo: © Simone D. McCourtie / World Bank

Girls like Nafissa* (not her real name), from Niger.

“I stopped (going to) school in order to marry,” says the young teen, “It was because of people’s mentality and their prejudices. I was married during a school break and, before I could return, I became pregnant. After that, I never returned.”

Child marriage deeply affects child brides, their children, their families, and even countries. Ending it is a target under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Indeed, child marriage will cost developing countries trillions of dollars by 2030, according to a new reportby the World Bank Group and the International Center for Research on Women.

View more testimonies from girls and women in Niger.

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Girls often get married because of pressure from parents and relatives, poverty and lack of alternatives. Limited access to quality education and families’ prioritization of boys’ rather than girls’ education–in part because of limited job opportunities–contribute to perpetuate the practice.  

“We are faced with long distances to primary schools. Girls on their way to school meet men. Later, some get pregnant and drop out of school,” said a parent from Uganda. “Also, we have no vocational school that will train our girls after they complete primary and lower secondary education, so we see it as a waste of resources to educate girls.”

The impact of child marriage can be devastating for child brides in terms of lost education and earnings opportunities as well as health risks when giving birth at a young age.  

Infographic: Putting a Price Tag on Child Marriage

 

“Child marriage not only puts a stop to girls’ hopes and dreams. It also hampers efforts to end poverty and achieve economic growth and equity,” said Quentin Wodon, lead author of the report. “Ending this practice is not only the morally right thing to do but also the economically smart thing to do.” 

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Ending child marriage is good economics

World Bank Group analysis suggests that the economic cost of child marriage is high. Ending child marriage and early child-bearing could reduce fertility and lower population growth by about one tenth in high prevalence countries. The analysis suggests that globally, by 2030, gains in well-being for populations from lower population growth could reach more than $500 billion annually.  

For children of mothers giving birth at a young age, there would also be reduced risks of children dying by age five or being affected by delayed physical development (stunting). Globally, the estimated benefits of lower under-five mortality and malnutrition could reach more than $90 billion annually by 2030.

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Another important benefit of ending child marriage would be an increase in women’s expected earnings in the labor market. Due in large part to the impact of child marriage on education, women who marry as children have, on average across 15 countries, earnings that are nine percent lower than if they had married later.  

Finally, countries would also save on their education budget. By 2030, eliminating child marriage today would save many governments five percent or more of their education budget.

Action to end child marriage

The international community is increasingly aware of the negative impacts of child marriage. In the Dominican Republic, an upper middle income country where more than one in three girls still marry before 18, new country data by UNICEF and the World Bank Group on the economic impacts of child marriage will feed into a campaign to end the practice.

See more related images on our World Bank Instagram channel.

With financing from IDA, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, the Sahel Women Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) project is working with the governments of Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger to empower adolescents and women. The project aims to delay marriage, and expand access to reproductive, child and maternal health services by working with communities, including religious and traditional leaders. The $205 million SWEDD project also offers “safe space” programs for girls and includes conditional cash transfers to encourage them to stay in school.

In Uganda, girls’ clubs run by BRAC Uganda, a branch of the Bangladesh-based international organization BRAC, have demonstrated success. Some 1,500 clubs in Uganda offer games, music, sex education, financial literacy, vocational training, and access to microfinance for young women trying to become entrepreneurs. Girls who have been members of the clubs for two years are 58 percent less likely to marry early.

One of the best ways to end child marriage is to keep girls in school

Each year of secondary education may reduce the likelihood of marrying before the age of 18 by five percentage points or more in many countries. By contrast, child brides are much more likely to drop out of school and complete fewer years of education than their peers who marry early. 

“If my parents had allowed me to study, I would have studied very sincerely. My friends could continue their studies and now they have become wiser and cleverer,” says *Pooja (not her real name) from Nepal, “If I had studied I would have been working. But my parents held my marriage and I couldn’t do anything after marriage. I now have children to look after.”

By keeping girls in school, Pooja and other girls would have had a better chance for safety and security, to health and education, and to make their own life choices and decisions.

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What’s next? 

Girls are powerful agents of socioeconomic change and the World Bank Group is committed to keeping them in school and learning. Girls who complete secondary education tend to be healthier, participate more in the formal labor market, earn more, marry later, have fewer children and provide better health care and education for the next generation. These factors combined can help lift households, communities, and nations out of poverty.

In 2016, the World Bank Group pledged that it would invest $2.5 billion over five years in education projects that directly benefit adolescent girls.

Click on the slideshow below to see how that investment is making an impact.

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The upcoming World Development Report 2018, Learning to Realize Education’s Promise, takes stock of what we know and how to expand the scope and quality of education around the world, especially for the most marginalized.

In addition, building on the work on the economic costs of child marriage, the World Bank Group is preparing a follow-up study on the economic benefits of investing in girls’ education.

Published courtesy of World Bank Group