Ed Partners Africa, a private schools financing company based in Nairobi has raised Ksh. 205 million ($1.9 million) to expand its presence and provide the private schools market access to credit. The funds were raised from Acumen, I&P and Zephyr with participation from existing investors.
The company targets affordable private schools that teach the low-income population and charge school fees of between Ksh. 16,000 ($150) and Ksh. 54,000 ($500) annually. In addition, targeted schools should be looking for loans of between Ksh. 200,000 ($2,000) and Ksh. 7 million) ($70,000) payable in up to six years. Ed Partners loans are purposed for specific end-uses such as expansion of classrooms, purchase of school buses, building sanitation facilities.
Ed Partners Africa CEO Amos Mwangi said, “Affordable privates schools have found it extremely difficult to access formal credit due to arduous application processes and limited collateral. Mainstream financial institutions lack operational insight to lend to this school segment, further exacerbating an already credit-starved sector.”
The company was founded in 2018 by Lydia Koros and David FitzHerbert. So far it has offered Ksh. 162 million ($1.5 million) in loans to 142 affordable private schools, which educate 41,000 students.
Mr. FitzHerbert, commenting on the acquired funds said, “We are excited to have Acumen, I&P and Zephyr show their faith in Ed Partners and its vision to improve access to credit to affordable private schools in Kenya. Ed Partners stand on the cusp of exponential growth and we believe that this current round will enable us to extend financing to the affordable private school segment which is urgently needed as Kenya emerges from the pandemic.”
Ed Partners also becomes the first company to receive funding from Acumen’s recently launched Education Facility.
“Acumen is thrilled to have Ed Partners join our portfolio, as the first investment under our recently launched Education Facility. Affordable private schools are an important piece in delivering education to African children, however they have historically been underbanked. In Kenya, and across Africa, 80%+ of private schools have never accessed a bank loan. Ed Partners’ tailored products enable the most affordable private schools to invest in quality-improving initiatives,” said Abdulkarim Mohamed, Portfolio Manager, Acumen.
Bangalore-based Unitus Capital was the exclusive financial transaction advisor to Ed Partners, while Taylor Wessing acted as legal advisors to the transaction.