The Arab Coordination Group (ACG) under the leadership of the IsDB and in partnership with GPE initiated the Smarter Financing for Education (ACG SmartEd), a financing instrument to radically scale up investment in education.
The first batch of its pipeline projects for 2023 was presented on March 7, 2023 to the ACG Directors of Operations for expressions of interest to co-finance three country projects in Cameroon, Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan for a combined volume of $280 million (more than half of the total facility resources).
This huge interest illustrates the high demand for innovative blended financing for investments in education and the attractiveness of the facility.
This roundtable discussion is a moment to build on the momentum and advocate for more and better financing for education. The objectives are as follow:
- High-level advocacy for more and better financing for education.
- Demonstrate the power of partnerships in resource mobilization.
- Generate awareness and excitement around the ACG SmartEd facility.
- Demonstrate deepening collaboration between ACG institutions and GPE.
- Showcase Middle East donors and sovereign Funds efforts in upscaling innovative education financing.