IFFed - A 'Moonshot' for Education : Shared by Tom McDermott

 ‘Moonshot’ education finance facility aims to turn $1 into $7 in LMICs

Sophie Edwards
Devex
Click here for the article

Summary
The International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd) has officially launched after nearly a decade of planning, with a bold goal of turning every $1 in donor funding into $7 for education projects in lower-middle-income countries.

Led by founding CEO Karthik Krishnan, the Geneva-based facility leverages donor guarantees and partnerships with multilateral development banks like the Asian Development Bank and World Bank to unlock large-scale, affordable education financing. With projects already underway in Asia and expansion planned into Africa, IFFEd is supported by donors including Canada, Sweden, the U.K., and South Korea, and has received top credit ratings from Moody’s and S&P. Critics, however, warn of duplication with existing mechanisms and the risks of adding debt to already struggling countries. Krishnan argues IFFEd provides “good debt” and a smart aid approach at a time when global aid budgets are shrinking.

Quotes

• “Shrinking aid budgets don’t mean shrinking ambition. IFFEd’s smart aid approach gives us the means to do more with less.” — Karthik Krishnan, CEO, IFFEd

• “This isn’t just another global fund. It’s a financial instrument — every dollar mobilizes $7 in projects.” — Karthik Krishnan

• “More than 50% of all low- and lower-middle income countries are now spending more on servicing their debts than on education.” — David Archer, ActionAid

• “Investing in children is better value than almost any other investment, so making it easier for cash-strapped governments to spend more now is ultimately probably a good thing.” — Lee Crawfurd, Center for Global Development