The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement with the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd) on September 26 that will bring at least $500 million in new concessional education financing to lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia and the Pacific.
Viet Nam joins other ADB developing member countries currently eligible for IFFEd (Switzerland) funding, including Bangladesh, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and Uzbekistan.
Under the financing partnership, IFFEd will guarantee $125 million of ADB sovereign loan exposure across all sectors (combined portfolio), and provide an initial grant of $50 million.
IFFEd-financed education projects can support ADB programs at all levels of the education system, from early childhood and secondary education to vocational education, skills development, and higher education.
By combining IFFEd’s guarantee to ADB with grants equal to 10% of each loan, the first-of-its-kind agreement enables leverage of up to four times the guarantee, increasing the amount of capital ADB can lend while lowering borrowing costs for the bank’s developing member countries.
By pooling catalytic and concessional finance, the initiative helps ADB’s lower-middle-income developing member countries scale up investments in education and skills – key to building knowledge-based economies – and other sectors, said Fatima Yasmin, ADB Vice President for Sectors and Thematic Affairs.
Established in 2023 to invest in education and skills in lower-middle-income countries, IFFEd receives funding from governments including Canada, Sweden and the UK, and is funded by the Atlassian Foundation, Jacobs Foundation, Porticus Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Soros Foundation for Economic Development.
Mr. Karthik Krishnan, Founding CEO of IFFEd shared that investing in education and skills in lower-middle-income countries - home to nearly half of the world's children and youth - is key to driving long-term economic growth and achieving progress on global health, climate and equity goals.
By providing aid or concessional financing to developing countries looking to strengthen their education systems in a rapidly changing era, the ADB-IFFEd partnership is expected to help ADB’s developing member countries prepare for a future characterized by digital transformation, climate change, demographic transition, and rapid urbanization.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/viet-nam-duoc-tiep-can-von-tai-tro-giao-duc-uu-dai-tri-gia-500-trieu-usd-tu-quy-iffed-post833487.html
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