Opportunity EduFinance addresses barriers to education from a unique angle, by providing school improvement loans to school owners and school fee loans to parents. School improvement loans empower school owners to invest in essential infrastructure, teacher training, and learning materials, creating better environments for students to thrive.
School fee loans help parents with irregular income to spread out the costs of their children’s education. This financial aid prevents school dropouts or missed classes during times of economic uncertainty when parents may struggle to pay for school fees, uniforms, materials, and transportation.
Learners taking part in an Opportunity EduFinance program in Colombia
This provides a comprehensive approach by addressing the capital needs of parents and school owners while also deepening the skills and competencies of local school leaders and teachers. This sustainable, low-cost framework can be replicated worldwide, bridging the gap where traditional funding falls short and creating opportunities to transform education for underserved communities.
In fact, they already work in 32 countries across Africa, Latin America and Asia and have benefited more than 15.7 million children by investing over US$1 billion in education.
School fee loans help parents with irregular income to spread out the costs of their children’s education.
Giddy2School Nigeria also helps keep children in school by providing scholarships, skills training (leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation skills), and mentorship. Their approach remodels the way young people perceive school by equipping them with 21st century skills that can make them financially independent.
Furthermore, mentorship has proven to be an effective approach to keep students in school. Giddy2School provides academic and career mentorship to their students and have seen how mentors can steer students in the right direction.
Giddy2School Nigeria’s Education for All & Palliatives Intervention Outreach (Lagos State)
Lokopakar also uses mentorship, providing first-generation students in Nepal with guidance on their career and education choices. Students who are the first in their family to receive an education often lack familial support and/or role models to guide them through educational decisions.
Mentorship empowers not just the student but creates a ripple of informed decision-making.
For instance, Lokopakar matched a first-generation student interested in pharmacy with a pharmacist. She gained clarity on subject choices, preparation for exams, options of colleges, and career growth to enable her to chart a clear pathway. She even shared her knowledge with her peers and family, amplifying the impact. Mentorship empowers not just the student but creates a ripple of informed decision-making.
Mentorship offers a personalized approach, connecting students with professionals who provide tailored advice during critical decision-making stages.
First gen students showcasing their product prototype after design thinking workshop in Kathmandu
Digital tools are another way to provide personalized support to bridge learning gaps. For example, EduFalcons offers open-source educational content for children in remote areas of Mongolia. While the Government of Mongolia has moved English instruction from grade 5 to grade 3 to promote English language, there is a shortage of qualified teachers to provide this instruction.
To bridge this gap, the EduFalcons initiative has created interactive English lessons to enable students to learn independently, regardless of their time or location.
Students looking at EduFalcons content
The EduFalcons content is customized to align with students' individual learning levels. Students complete self-paced tasks before attending classroom sessions, which focus on discussions and reinforcement activities. Assessments are conducted online, providing instant results and analysis. This streamlined approach allows teachers and students to track progress efficiently, saving time while enhancing overall learning outcomes.
For children, especially those in resource-constrained environments, short, animated videos break down complex concepts into digestible formats.
.jpg)
A mother facilitating her child’s learning using TicTacLearn as part of the Digital Foundational Learning Summer Programme in Dhenkanal district, Odisha.
TicTacLearn also leverages digital platforms to complement learning, through short Youtube videos.
According to Ankur Sehgal, Senior Project Lead at TicTacLearn, “Bite-sized media, such as YouTube videos, has revolutionised education by making learning more accessible, engaging, and scalable. For children, particularly those in resource-constrained settings, short, animated videos simplify complex concepts into easily understandable formats. In classrooms, these resources serve as effective supplements for teachers, helping to explain abstract ideas more clearly while capturing students' attention through interactive and visually appealing content. At home, parents use these tools to actively engage with their children's learning and foster a supportive environment for academic growth.”
Header image: Learners in an Opportunity EduFinance program in Tanzania
Learn more about these innovative approaches in our Global Collection 2025 Report.
If you are working on an innovative educational approach, share your innovation with us for the opportunity to be featured in next year's collection.
