What IDP Foundation does

IDP Foundation, Inc. is a US-incorporated nonprofit foundation headquartered in Chicago with operational staff in Accra, Ghana and the CEO based in London. Founded in 2008 by Irene Pritzker and Liesel Pritzker Simmons, the foundation's mission is to strengthen the affordable non-state education sector in Ghana and Kenya, where it supports low-fee private schools serving families in the 2nd-4th socioeconomic quintiles. Its flagship Rising Schools Program (RSP), launched in 2009 with Sinapi Aba Savings & Loans, combines microfinance access with the proprietary nine-module Proprietor Training Manual (PTM) to improve school sustainability; RSP now reaches over 253,000 learners across 1,100+ Ghanaian schools with a 96% loan repayment rate. A second country program, Ongoza, was launched in Kenya in 2022 in collaboration with Dignitas and Premier Credit Limited, disbursing 699 loans in year one.

Name

IDP Foundation

Legal name

IDP Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://idpfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Philanthropy and Financing

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Education philanthropy
• School improvement financing
• Microfinance education
• Non-state education support
• Education capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grant Making: IDP Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization funded by an endowment. The foundation makes grants and program-related investments to partner organizations that support low-fee private schools in Ghana and Kenya. Revenue is not generated from operations but from investment returns on the foundation's endowment.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IDP Foundation is a philanthropic organization that makes grants and program-related investments to partner microfinance institutions, NGOs, and training providers supporting low-fee private schools in Ghana and Kenya. It funds partner organizations that deliver microfinance loans, school proprietor training, and teacher professional development to underserved education entrepreneurs and their communities.

Product overview

IDP Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization focused on improving access to quality education in low and lower-middle income countries, particularly Ghana and Kenya. Its work centers on supporting the affordable non-state education sector through a portfolio of programs including the Rising Schools Program (RSP) — its flagship initiative providing microfinance and business training to low-fee private school proprietors — and the Ongoza Program, which delivers similar support in Kenya through local partners. Additional offerings include teacher training programs (TFET and TFLI/Tools for Foundational Learning Improvement), a measurement framework (School Fee Index) for assessing school affordability, and a proprietary training curriculum (Proprietor Training Manual). IDP Foundation also develops financial innovations such as local currency lending solutions. The organization does not operate a unified technology product or platform; rather, it funds and coordinates educational programs through partner institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rising Schools Program: Flagship program providing essential services, access to finance, and training to low-fee private schools in Ghana
• Ongoza Program
• Techniques for Effective Teaching (TFET)
• Tools for Foundational Learning Improvement (TFLI)
• Inspiring Teachers Ghana

Products and services

• Rising Schools Program (RSP) IDP Foundation's flagship market-based program providing access to finance and school management training for low-fee private school proprietors in Ghana. Combines microloans with financial literacy and business training to improve school sustainability and learning outcomes.
• Ongoza Program A collaborative program in Kenya providing low-fee private schools with access to school improvement loans, teacher professional development aligned with Kenya's Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), and instructional leadership training through local partners Dignitas and Premier Credit Limited.
• Techniques for Effective Teaching (TFET) A teacher training initiative developed with Sesame Workshop to strengthen early grade teachers' capacity to use child-friendly and inclusive teaching approaches through video-based pedagogy and activity-based learning techniques.
• Tools for Foundational Learning Improvement (TFLI) An evidence-driven initiative providing school leaders and teachers in low-fee private schools with tools to boost foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes. Now led by Inspiring Teachers Ghana (ITG) as a locally anchored NGO.
• Rising Schools Proprietor Training Manual (PTM) A nine-module curriculum covering school finance, accounting, cash management, business planning, classroom management, and academic excellence, delivered through financial institution loan officers to school proprietors across Ghana and Kenya.
• Local Currency Education Finance Solution A replicable de-risked financing structure developed with MIT Kuo Sharper Center, TLG Capital, and RPCK Rastegar Panchal to enable local currency lending to education-focused MSMEs in Kenya without requiring FX hedging.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.

• MIT Kuo Sharper Center for Prosperity and EntrepreneurshipsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Convening power that brought together IDPF, TLG Capital, and RPCK to develop replicable local currency lending structure for African education finance.
• Inspiring Teachers / Inspiring Teachers GhanacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2024Partnership to develop and scale Tools for Foundational Learning Improvement (TFLI) initiative. Inspiring Teachers Ghana (co-founded June 2024) leads rollout while advocating for national teacher qualification for untrained teachers.
• Center for Professional Development, Training and Education (CPDTE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2024Ghana-based NGO co-founder of Inspiring Teachers Ghana; leads TFLI implementation and advocacy for 'Foundations in Teaching' qualification aligned with Ghana's National Teaching Standards.
• DignitascoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2022Kenyan NGO providing continuous professional development support to teachers and instructional leaders in Ongoza Program. Training covers classroom culture, learner engagement, and instructional leadership aligned with Kenya's Competency Based Curriculum.
• Sinapi Aba Savings & Loans (Sinapi Aba Trust)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 September 2009Original Ghanaian microfinance partner that co-created the Rising Schools Program in September 2009. Sinapi Aba provides microfinance loans to low-fee private schools and trains loan officers to deliver the Proprietor Training Manual. The partnership pioneered the model of combining credit with business training for school proprietors.
• Sesame WorkshopsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Collaborated with IDP Foundation to develop teacher training videos addressing pedagogy and activity-based learning techniques, including content featuring Sesame Street Muppets Zobi and Kami.
• Jackfruit FinancesecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHas scaled delivery of the Proprietor Training Manual (PTM) to thousands of schools across its Kenya loan portfolio, training staff to become proprietor trainers.
• Ed Partners AfricasecondaryChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorKenyan partner that has trained staff to deliver PTM and supports schools across its loan portfolio.
• Global Schools ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDP Foundation funds Global Schools Forum as a critical organization for building collective local voice in non-state education. Collaborating on research and toolkit development for non-state actor engagement with governments.
• NASIA (National Association of Private Schools Ghana)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner association representing private schools in Ghana; collaborated on 15-year Rising Schools Program celebration event.
• GNAPS (Ghana National Association of Private Schools)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner association representing private schools in Ghana; collaborated on 15-year Rising Schools Program celebration event.
• NORC at the University of ChicagosecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned to evaluate TFET (Techniques for Effective Teaching) program Phase III across 46 Colleges of Education in Ghana.
• University of Ghana / University of Washington (with J-PAL and IPA)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partners conducting 80-school randomized control trial (RCT) on TFLI program effectiveness.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Opportunity International: Provides microfinance and education finance solutions for low-income families and schools in developing countries. Operates a similar model of combining credit access with training for school proprietors in Africa and other emerging markets.
• Grameen Foundation: Focused on poverty alleviation through microfinance and technology, with overlapping programs in education finance and school support in Sub-Saharan Africa. Operates a partner-led model for last-mile delivery similar to IDPF.
• Acumen: Impact investing nonprofit that deploys patient capital to education and social enterprises in low-income countries. Shares IDPF's market-based approach to addressing systemic gaps in education access.
• Room to Read: Global education nonprofit operating across Africa and Asia with school-level programs in literacy, gender equality, and school leadership. Comparable as a similarly scaled education foundation with school proprietor / leader support components.
• Camfed: Education-focused nonprofit with deep operations in Sub-Saharan Africa supporting girls' education and school systems. Operates in several of the same geographies as IDPF and shares the school-level support model.
• Building Tomorrow: Smaller nonprofit focused on supporting low-fee private schools in Uganda and East Africa. Highly comparable given its similar focus on affordable non-state education and community-driven school partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• Mastercard Foundation: Large-scale philanthropic foundation with major programs in education and youth employment across Africa. Overlaps with IDPF in supporting low-fee and non-state schools and education-focused MSMEs in Ghana and Kenya.
• BRAC: Large international development organization operating schools and education programs across multiple African and Asian countries. Comparable as a much larger incumbent working on affordable, scalable education delivery in low-income settings.

Emerging players

• Global Schools Forum: Membership organization IDPF explicitly funds to amplify the collective voice of non-state education actors. Operates in adjacent policy and convening space with significant overlap in target school populations.
• Spark MicroGrants: Nonprofit focused on community-driven development and grantmaking in East Africa. Operates in overlapping geographies (Uganda, Kenya) and shares a partner-led, locally anchored grantmaking approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IDPFoundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/IDPRisingSchools
• Facebookfacebook.com/IDPFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/801847
• Instagraminstagram.com/idpfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about IDP Foundation