WASHINGTON D.C./TOKYO/ANTANANARIVO, May 5, 2025 – Amid increasing funding constraints to education, Japan has contributed US$1.45 million to GPE’s Multiplier for Madagascar, unlocking another $8.75 million from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), German Committee for UNICEF and Hempel Foundation to increase access to quality and inclusive education in Madagascar.

Today, less than one in four students in Madagascar achieves minimum language and math competencies by the end of primary education. The shortage of well-trained teachers, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, further widens learning disparities.

Channeled through GPE, the $10.2 million package is set to enhance the capacity of school management committees, provide remedial lessons, increase school retention, facilitate the re-enrollment of out-of-school children and build teachers' pedagogical skills.

“Madagascar's advancement in the educational sector is crucial for its sustained development and social progress. Japan is committed to supporting this endeavor through strategic partnerships and innovative financing mechanisms such as the GPE Multiplier. We believe that together, we can significantly enhance access to quality education for all children, thereby fostering long-term socio-economic growth in Madagascar,” said Abe Koji, Ambassador of Japan to Madagascar and Comoros.

The GPE Multiplier is an innovative finance mechanism that incentivizes additional external funding to help transform education systems. Countries can unlock a Multiplier grant by securing new and additional funding from a diverse range of partners including sovereign states, development partners, businesses and foundations.

JICA has been a pivotal partner in utilizing the GPE Multiplier to co-fund education projects in Mongolia, Senegal, Lao PDR, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Cambodia and Madagascar.

Through this partnership, JICA has invested approximately $130 million, unlocking almost $40 million from the GPE Multiplier. The new grant will help Madagascar increase access to quality education.

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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 90 lower-income 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

Media contact

Tamara Kummer, GPE Head of Communications, @email, Tel: + 33 7 82 26 07 18

About JICA

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is the executing agency of Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA), which handles technical cooperation, ODA loans and investment, and grant aid, as well as cooperation volunteers and disaster relief programs. JICA is the world’s largest bilateral aid agency with its scale of operations amounting to about JPY 2,808 billion for JFY 2023 and a worldwide network of almost 100 overseas offices including Madagascar. Please visit https://www.jica.go.jp/english/index.html for details.