Despite the cautious mood at the Financing for Development conference in Seville in July, the gathering offered a glimmer of hope: a growing appetite for fresh thinking in development finance. But amid renewed conversations about fiscal innovation, one foundational sector remains too often overlooked — education.
Education is not a peripheral issue. In our work at the British Asian Trust and the Jacobs Foundation, we have seen that education is the backbone of sustainable development, enabling healthier societies, more resilient economies, and responsive governance. Yet high-level financing discussions continue to treat it as a secondary concern. If we are serious about achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 4 for Quality Education, we must reform how education is financed and positioned within broader development strategies.
A joint statement from the International Education Funders Group and the OECD Network of Foundations Working for Development reinforced the urgency of education finance reform. As co-signatories, we reaffirmed the philanthropic community’s commitment to education and called for greater ambition, alignment and investment in education financing. If partners from across sectors do not act together, inaction will only cause more strain: the private, fiscal, and social costs of children who don’t have access to learning total $10 trillion every year.
This isn’t sustainable, nor is it fair.
The tide is turning, however. The Compromiso de Sevilla document coming out of this year’s Financing for Development conference acknowledged the need for adequate education financing — an encouraging sign, albeit one that now requires follow-through. There are actors that are prioritizing education, but from our perspective, three concrete actions can help translate momentum into lasting progress.
Addressing the education finance gap
First, we must strengthen the global education financing architecture. The global education ecosystem needs more than goodwill; it needs coordination, coherence, and committed funding. Philanthropy has a key role to play — not only as a funder but as a partner to innovative mechanisms and global platforms, such as the International Finance Facility for Education, that align resources around proven strategies. Now is the time to double down on what works: prioritize scalable, evidence-based approaches; streamline donor coordination; and embed education financing into the broader development landscape.
Second, we must act locally. While global frameworks are essential, change happens on the ground. Across low- and middle-income countries, governments are working hard to keep education a top priority, even under fiscal pressure. Strategic partnerships can amplify these efforts and unlock systemic change.
In Ghana, for instance, the System Change Architecture for Learning Excellence, or SCALE, was recently launched to do exactly that. Backed by a $118.8 million financing package, SCALE is aligning public, private and philanthropic resources to extend proven education models to thousands of schools, impacting millions of learners. It’s a blueprint for how national leadership and collaborative financing can catalyze transformation.
In India, the LiftEd initiative aimed at strengthening foundational literacy and numeracy for 4 million children works in close alignment with the Indian Government’s NIPUN Bharat Mission. The LiftEd Development Impact Bond is also the first impact bond to take a systems change approach, working with stakeholders in the public education system who influence learning at scale.
Finally, we must catalyze new forms of financing, including outcomes-based funding, private financing, and blended finance, that deliver both impact and efficiency. India’s Quality Education Development Impact Bond is one example: it improved learning outcomes for over 200,000 primary students, achieved results at nearly half the projected cost, and delivered five times greater learning gains. Models like this prove that well-structured, performance-linked financing can generate outsized returns — not just for education, but as a template for SDG financing overall.
Meeting the moment
Philanthropy is uniquely positioned to test these approaches, de-risk investments, and build confidence in new models. As more capital flows into sustainable investments, education must make its case more forcefully to claim a larger share. The appetite is there — but we must be ready with compelling, measurable pathways for impact.
The challenges in education financing are real, but so are the opportunities. What’s needed now is the collective will to act—boldly and collaboratively. Education financing is not just a sectoral issue — it’s a foundation for inclusive, resilient development. If we want to deliver on the full ambition of the SDGs, we must bring education to the center of the financing conversation.
Philanthropy has a unique set of tools, but we don’t have all the solutions. Our tools allow philanthropy to test new ideas, take risks, and identify innovative solutions to our greatest challenges. Once we test and validate these pathways, other investors can follow and additional capital can flow. The challenge and opportunity with education financing extends well beyond philanthropy — and we need organizations from across sectors to lean in.
Our tools are on the table, ready to be shared across development financing. All we ask is that others do the same.
Fabio Segura is Co-CEO of the Jacobs Foundation. Richard Hawkes is CEO of the British Asian Trust.
