| Goods |
EXPANDING BEYOND KENYA
ENGAGING NEW INVESTORS
By 2013 Bridge had opened 213 academies
across Kenya, reached 57,000 students,
recruited and trained over 2,000 people, and
attracted investments from the Omidyar Network, Learn
Capital and NEA. The organization knew it would need
additional capital and investors if it wanted to continue to
improve learning outcomes and expand beyond Kenya. So
Bridge leadership sought investors that shared its goals.
Figure 3: Bridge’s Technology Cycle
Teachers
Download lessons
to tablets using the
Academy Managers’
phone as a hotspot
Teachers
Enter results, attendance,
and other metrics into
tablets and upload
to central team
for analysis
Bridge
Central Team
Develops, updates, and
tests lessons and new
approaches
Students
Assessed using
traditional paper and
pencil tests
IFC INCLUSIVE BUSINESS CASE STUDY | Bridge International Academies
9
Bridge approached IFC, a member of the World Bank
Group, to become a lead investor with a $10 million
investment as part of an equity fundraising. Beyond
seed financing, Bridge was also looking for advice in
addressing the regulatory challenges that come with
cross-border expansion. In addition to IFC, Bridge brought
on other key investors such as the U.K.’s CDC, Novastar,
PanAfrican Investment, Rethink Education, as well as high
profile individuals like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.⁸
Bridge also got a loan from the U.S.’s Overseas Private
Investment Corporation. |