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international

“the truth is, we can’t go
is is exactly where IFFEd’s nancial
backwards—technology is here to innovation comes in. With our 7x leverage
model, we don’t need the full $97 billion in direct
stay, and it’s changing everything,
funding. If we can secure just $14 billion in
especially how young people learn investments, we can generate the equivalent of
$98 billion in project value. What once seemed
and interact.” impossible becomes a stretch goal—ambitious,
but achievable.

Our rst major focus is on encouraging more
sovereign investors to participate in our nancial
instrument. e bene ts of leveraged impact make
innovation and aim for impact at the scale of a this a highly attractive proposition for governments
billion lives. committed to sustainable development.

I also continue to teach at NYU Stern School of We began with the Asian Development Bank
Business, which I’ve done for nearly 15 years. I (ADB) as our initial partner, and we are now in
strongly believe that great educators can in uence advanced discussions with the World Bank—
the entire trajectory of a person’s life. For me, con dentially, we’re very close to nalizing that
education has always been the most powerful agreement. is would signi cantly expand our
bridge between inequality and opportunity—a reach, especially into Africa, which is projected
catalyst for upward mobility, and a critical tool to to be the youngest continent by 2050. Tapping
address broader challenges like climate change, into this potential is crucial.
health, and humanitarian crises.
In fact, G20 has recognized IFFEd as the top
Both my parents were educators: my father was innovation in the development nance space in
a professor, and my mother ran a math academy the last decade, and the G7 has recommended
to help children fall in love with mathematics. So that all Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)
in many ways, education is in my DNA. adopt this instrument. So, our second strategic
objective is to broaden our partnerships across
But I also believe the system needs rethinking. all MDBs, enabling us to serve regions including
Education today is o en expensive, and the Africa and Latin America e ectively.
content we teach is becoming less relevant in the
face of rapid advances like AI. So the question e third area of focus is unlocking the
becomes: how do we reshape education to truly education impact multiplier. We’re working
prepare people for the world they’re entering? to make sure the right policies and projects
are being implemented by drawing on global
In my current role, I get to work at the intersection expertise. For example, we’re collaborating with:
of nance, education, and large-scale global • the Jacobs Foundation;
impact—helping people move from education to • the U.K.’s FCDO “What Works” initiative;
employability to economic independence. And • the World Bank’s Smart Buys.
to me, that’s both a privilege and a purpose.
Our aim is to act as a knowledge broker,
What are your priorities moving forward, and connecting countries with evidence-based
how do you scale this globally? policies, expert networks, and institutional
We’re fortunate to have secured initial nancing implementation support. We want to ensure
for our mission. But if we look at the bigger every education project we help nance is
picture—achieving the learning goals in low- grounded in what truly works.
and lower-middle-income countries—the
annual funding requirement is about $97 And nally, we’re focused on the long-term
billion. at gure can seem impossible, vision: transforming lives through education and
especially in today’s climate where aid budgets skills that lead to employment and economic
are shrinking. independence. We’re putting in place systems to

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