The Foundation for GPE, an entrepreneurial and agile vehicle created to support GPE’s mission of transforming education in lower-income countries, mobilizes new and innovative partnerships with the private sector and philanthropic actors.

PARIS, June 2, 2026 - With initially four pioneering partnerships and backed by a remarkable coalition of seed funders, the Foundation for GPE was officially launched today on the sidelines of GPE’s Board meeting in Paris. Attended by representatives from the private sector, foundations and partners, as well as Dr. Tunji Alausa, Honorable Minister of Education of Nigeria, the launch marks a milestone in the effort to mobilize new and diverse resources in support of GPE’s mission to transform education in over 90 countries.

“Education is the backbone of national development,” said Dr. Tunji Alausa, Honorable Minister of Education of Nigeria. “As co-host of GPE’s ‘Multiply Possibility’ campaign, Nigeria welcomes the establishment of the Foundation for GPE, an important step in contributing to GPE’s work to transform education globally.”

Anchored in GPE’s country-led model, the Foundation for GPE aligns new investments with national education priorities while driving the development and scale-up of evidence-based solutions that deliver results—underpinned by GPE’s expertise, credibility, and quality assurance.

To support GPE's work, the Foundation for GPE brings greater flexibility to engage new technical and operating partners, fostering collaboration and synergies across the international education finance ecosystem - particularly through its strategic presence at the heart of the International Geneva. It can also operate with a higher risk appetite, piloting innovative financing structures and unlocking new sources of capital beyond traditional grants, while leveraging GPE’s funding tools, including the 1:1 GPE Match for private and philanthropic contributions.

The launch introduced four pioneering partnerships, each highlighting a key aspect of the Foundation for GPE’s approach and its ability to work with a wide range of partners, modalities and mechanisms to bring new resources to contribute to GPE’s work:

• The Jannik Sinner Foundation, with valuable support from Gucci, will fund GPE’s Girls’ Education Accelerator, which aims to provide quality education to 3.2 million girls, in countries where they lag furthest behind due to fragility, conflict or heavily entrenched and harmful norms.
• The Grenada Private Sector Alliance for Education, a coalition of private sector actors in Grenada, together with the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce, are pooling resources through the Foundation for GPE in support of the Government’s goal to ensure every child can read and understand a text by age 9.
• The Cisco Networking Academy will support an innovative in-kind collaboration, aimed at strengthening the data and analytics capacity of Ministries of Education. Through this initiative, countries will be better equipped to leverage data for informed, evidence-based decision-making, ultimately enhancing the performance of education systems and improving learning outcomes.
• Supporting a Philanthropy Guarantee instrument that would enable philanthropy to use their balance sheets to unlock additional capital at scale for education and skills programs based on good evidence and partner country priorities.

“Through the Foundation for GPE, we are able to bring together partners in the private sector, foundations and other philanthropic actors to support GPE’s mission helping countries transform their education systems,” said David Boutcher, Chair of the Foundation for GPE.

The Foundation for GPE’s inception has been supported by a group of leading education funders, whose much appreciated early commitment helped build the Foundation’s roots and credibility: Jacobs Foundation, Julius Baer Foundation, Fondation Botnar, Family Larsson-Rosenquist Foundation, MC2H Foundation, Federer Foundation, UBS Optimus Foundation, Z Zurich Foundation, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Canton of Geneva.

“Education is the best investment the world can make. The Foundation for GPE exists to make more of that investment possible,” said Laura Frigenti, CEO of GPE. “I am grateful to our partners for their trust and commitment.”

The Foundation for GPE is being launched alongside GPE’s Multiply Possibility campaign, co-hosted by Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, and President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It aims to mobilize financing and multiply learning possibilities for almost 750 million children in 96 countries. The campaign builds up to a global, high-level event set to take place at the UN General Assembly in September.

For more information

• Eliane Proenca Matti, Head of Partnerships, @email
• Geoffroy Catrice, Head of Operations, @email
• Tamara Kummer, GPE Head of Communications @email Tel: +1 202 948 5395

About the Foundation for GPE

We are a Swiss foundation established in Geneva, dedicated to advancing the Global Partnership for Education (GPE)’s mission of transforming education in over 90 countries. We aim to mobilize new and diverse resources, build strategic partnerships with private and philanthropic actors, and champion innovative approaches to ensure that every child has access to quality education.
www.foundationforgpe.org

About the Global Partnership for Education

GPE is a shared commitment to ending the world’s learning crisis. We mobilize partners and funds to support over 90 countries to transform their education systems so that every girl and boy can get the quality education they need to unlock their full potential and contribute to building a better world.
www.globalpartnership.org