IFFEd becomes an independent organization on July 1, driving financing for global education and skills development in lower-middle-income countries

As of July 1, 2023, IFFEd is now established and operating as a non-profit foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland. Through its innovative finance model, the newly independent organization will work in collaboration with government, non-government and philanthropic partners to scale-up more affordable financing for quality education and skills development in lower middle income countries (LMICs).

Following several years of design and development, IFFEd’s financial mechanism is in its final stages of preparation and will become effective by early 2024.

Support for IFFEd’s innovative financing model continues to expand. Following Sweden’s approval of the largest ever Sida guarantee, IFFEd is in discussion with several other sovereign funders and multilateral development banks, including the Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank, and has received support from leading education and financial innovation foundations, including Jacobs Foundation, Atlassian Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation.

COVID-19 brought a new urgency to IFFEd, as countries eligible for this funding are facing severe budget constraints that will make it difficult to protect education budgets. The World Bank and UNESCO report that two-thirds of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) slashed their education budgets since the onset of the global pandemic. With the conflict in Ukraine and other global crises requiring the capacity of the international community, the establishment of IFFEd will enable a much-needed renewed focus on the longer-term crisis in education and skills.

About The International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd)

Launched in September 2022 at the UN’s Transforming Education Summit, IFFEd is a powerful new financing engine for global education and skills development. It is specifically designed to tackle the education and skills crisis in LMICs which are home to 80 percent of the world’s children and youth.

For further details, please contact the IFFEd team at info@iff-education.org.