Access to education is essential to empowering communities and driving economic growth in developing countries. Yet many financial and cultural barriers still exist that prohibit students’ access to educational opportunities.
DFC investments are bringing affordable education to elementary, secondary, and university students in developing countries. The projects we support are building and expanding schools, introducing innovative models of education to reach more students, and helping schools operate in challenging environments.
DFC financing is supporting the expansion of Fulbright University Vietnam with a new campus in Ho Chi Minh City that will serve up to 1,300 students. Fulbright, Vietnam’s first independent nonprofit university, offers degrees in engineering, liberal arts, and public policy and partners with multiple American universities including Harvard and the University of Texas to bring a high-quality undergraduate and graduate education to Vietnam. As the first college in Vietnam to offer needs-based tuition assistance, the university is also expanding access to affordable education.
DFC financing is helping Varthana support the thousands of small affordable private schools that fill the gap that government schools cannot meet, providing critical loans and online learning plans to help these affordable private schools weather the pandemic and stay in business.
Financing to Patamar Capital Impact fund is supporting Topica Edtech Group, a virtual education business that partners with universities in the United States, Philippines, and Vietnam to provide online undergraduate degree programs to students across Southeast Asia. Since 2004, Topica has helped more than six thousand students earn undergraduate degrees. Topica also maintains multiple platforms to help students learn new languages and develop professional skills.
Financing enabled the university to build a state-of-the-art campus and expand its curriculum to serve as a center for research throughout Central Asia. The expansion also enabled the university to increase its enrollment capacity by 33 percent and introduce several sustainable design features including geothermal heating and cooling.
Payment on a political risk insurance claim enabled the American International School of Bamako to cover income lost from the evacuation so that it was able to reopen and serve existing students, as well as others from neighboring schools that remained closed. The insurance protected the school against loss of business income resulting from political violence so that it could serve as a place of stability during an uncertain time.