The Economist Educational Foundation

Name

The Economist Educational Foundation

Legal name

The Economist Educational Foundation

Website

https://economistfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Educational Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Public Speaking & Debate Programs (Live/Recorded) (EDAMAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG), Open Lesson Plans & Teaching Units (K–12) (EDAGAJAI), Education, Research & Academic Congresses (THAHAJAD)

Keywords

• News literacy education
• Current affairs curriculum
• Media literacy resources
• Critical thinking skills
• School discussion programs

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations from Individuals: Individual donations are processed through JustGiving (UK and international) and CAF America (US). Donations range from £50 to £5,000+ and support direct program delivery to children. Regular monthly giving options are available. UK taxpayers can use Gift Aid to increase donation value by 25%.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with corporations include teaching resources co-development, in-person student workshops, volunteer programs, and work experience content. Partners include KPMG UK, PA Foundation, Rolex (main partner), Eranda Rothschild Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, UBS, Infosys, and Ashurst.
3. Trust and Foundation Grants: Funding from trusts and foundations supports specific programs and geographic expansion. Key funders include Eranda Rothschild Foundation (founding funder since 2013), Portal Trust (supports Topical Talk Festival), and The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust.
4. Festival Registration Fees: Topical Talk Festival costs £349 (+VAT) per class of 34 students for non-fee-paying schools. Prices are adjusted depending on school type with some subsidized places available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Economist Educational Foundation delivers Topical Talk, a free educational programme providing weekly classroom resources on current affairs for students aged 10-16, combining pedagogical expertise with The Economist's journalistic content. Core offerings include weekly Headline lessons, the annual Topical Talk Festival (a global news festival connecting classrooms worldwide), and the Leadership for Change Prize (an annual competition where students develop solutions to global challenges). All teaching resources are free, with fee-based participation in the Festival (£349+VAT per class) and Prize.

Product overview

The Economist Educational Foundation offers Topical Talk, a comprehensive educational programme designed to bring current affairs into classrooms worldwide. The portfolio consists of four core products: Topical Talk (the main programme providing weekly lessons), Topical Talk Headlines (weekly news lessons created by teachers and journalists), Topical Talk Festival (an annual global news festival connecting classrooms), and the Leadership for Change Prize (an annual competition where students develop real-world solutions to global challenges). Additional sub-products support specific curriculum areas including media literacy, oracy skills, and English curriculum objectives. All resources are free for teachers and schools, with the Festival and Prize having optional participation fees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Topical Talk: Flagship programme providing free classroom resources, global conversations, training and events designed to amplify young voices and inspire open-minded discussions about the news.
• Topical Talk Festival
• Topical Talk Prize (Leadership for Change Prize)
• Topical Talk Headlines

Products and services

• Topical Talk The flagship educational programme providing free weekly classroom resources on current affairs, designed to help students aged 10-16 develop critical-thinking, communication, and media literacy skills through structured discussions about the news.
• Topical Talk Headlines Free weekly lesson on a topic in the news, created by expert teachers and journalists from The Economist. Each Headline lesson is designed to spark discussion and build students' critical-thinking and communication skills.
• Topical Talk Festival Annual global news festival connecting classrooms around the world. Through classroom activities, online discussions and awards, students explore important issues including equity, sustainability, climate and global justice. Costs £349 (+VAT) per class of 34 students for non-fee-paying schools.
• Topical Talk Prize (Leadership for Change Prize) Annual competition (in partnership with Rolex) that helps students build skills and confidence to tackle global challenges, guided by expert judges. Students create real-world projects with potential for global impact.
• Media Literacy Resources Collection of lessons specifically focused on media literacy, helping students identify misinformation, evaluate source credibility, and critically engage with news content. Covers conspiracy theories, deepfakes, and social media regulation. Mapped against Ofcom's media literacy outcomes across five areas.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 million children reached in 2025-26, doubling from 500,000 in 2024
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core partner, principal partner and association.

• Kent Catholic Schools' Partnership (KCSP)core partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Partnership developed in 2025 focusing on building primary teacher confidence and practice. Includes bespoke training, supported classroom action-research projects, and engagement of over 300 children through Topical Talk Festival and Summer Oracy Project.
• PA Foundationprincipal partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with The PA Foundation gives young people STEM knowledge and skills needed for the modern world. Series of focused resources allow students to learn about big STEM news stories. In-person events feature world-renowned experts and PA volunteers.
• KPMG UKcore partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivers 'Numeracy in the News' events where schoolchildren discuss how numbers and statistics are used in news stories. KPMG volunteers take part in Topical Talk Festival, supporting children globally to develop critical-thinking and communication skills.
• Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS)core partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS school district partnership including Teacher Leadership Programme with training sessions and action-research projects. Students from Georgia schools participate in Topical Talk Festival and Prize.
• British Councilcore partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRecruits schools internationally for Topical Talk participation. Partnership brings schools in India, Nigeria, and other countries into the program, supporting global expansion.
• Skills Builder PartnershipassociationStrategic or Co-development PartnerTopical Talk uses the Skills Builder Universal Framework to guide skill development and track student progress over time. Framework ensures consistent measurement of speaking, listening, problem-solving, and creativity skills.
• Fair Education AllianceassociationStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of alliance focused on educational equality. Committed to supporting schools and young people in underserved communities to prepare for new curriculum requirements.
• News Literacy NetworkassociationStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of network focused on news literacy education. Collaboration to maximize impact in media literacy space.
• Media and Information Literacy AllianceassociationStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of alliance working on media and information literacy. Partnership supports global efforts in this area.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Peers

• Facing History & Ourselves:

Direct peers

• News Literacy Project: US-based non-profit (Checkology e-learning platform) that teaches news literacy to middle and high school students. Directly comparable to TEEF in mission, target audience, and free classroom resource model, but US-centric.
• Common Sense Education: Non-profit arm of Common Sense Media providing free K-12 digital citizenship, media literacy, and news literacy curricula. Closely comparable mission (media literacy for schools) and free distribution model.
• Newsela: Ed-tech company providing current-affairs articles and instructional content for K-12 with leveled reading. Strongly comparable in offering current events content to schools; differentiates via paid subscription and broader subject coverage rather than news-only.
• First News: UK children's newspaper and current-affairs resource aimed at 7-14 year olds. Comparable audience and news-for-schools positioning, distributed via subscription and school partnerships rather than free-only.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/econ_foundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/economistfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-economist-educational-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/econ_foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Economist Educational Foundation