A network of international schools to widen education provision in Sub-Saharan Africa

Enko Education, a pan-African operator of secondary and high schools, is a young group which aims to structure a pan-African network of high-quality private schools, accessible to the middle and upper classes. Enko operates from South Africa and has already successfully launched two first schools in Cameroon and Mozambique and made an acquisition in South Africa.

The project involves opening about thirty schools, mainly in French-speaking Africa, and establishing curricula leading to the International Baccalaureate. Proparco's investment will finance the first years of operation for existing schools, as well as the launch of new schools in 2016 and 2017.

Enko Education Limited is developing a network of schools (initially secondary and high schools and recently primary schools) that implement the International Baccalaureate program. In 2020, Proparco made an additional investment of USD 500k to support the company’s development plan.

There are three main socioeconomic impacts expected from this project. Firstly, this project should contribute to improving education provision in several Sub-Saharan African border countries. Secondly, by charging tariffs that are lower than prevailing prices, the project should allow some 6,000 African students, in particular from middle classes, to access this type of service over the next 5 years. By offering African middle classes high-quality training at an affordable price, this project is complementing the efforts of countries to increase access to education, relieving public budgets and helping diversify and improve private education provision in Sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, the project is expected to contribute to supporting over 1,700 jobs over the next 5 years in the 3 countries concerned, including 1,300 jobs created at Enko, 50% of which should be held by women (teachers and administrative staff).