Creadev, Finnfund in South African education deal

SPARK Schools has announced a series C fundraise led by Creadev, alongside Finnfund and Imaginable Futures to unlock access to high quality, affordable K-12 education across Africa.

The funding will be instrumental in consolidating SPARK’s existing network and expanding primary and secondary schools across Africa to reach 35,000-plus scholars in the next 10 years. The round was led by Creadev, together with the Finnish development finance institution Finnfund and existing SPARK shareholder Imaginable Futures.

Since 2012, SPARK Schools’ CEO Stacey Brewer and her team have developed a pioneering tech-enabled pedagogical model. Through a combination of teacher-led instruction and online learning, rotational classroom setup, and strong emphasis on educators’ professional development, SPARK Schools provides the best standards of education at a competitive price accessible to the many. The company has grown to become the third largest network of private K-12 schools in South Africa, operating 18 institutions and serving over 10,500 families from diverse social and cultural backgrounds.

Pierre Fauvet and Sarah Ngamau of Creadev Africa said, “Stacey and her team have developed a highly innovative and scalable model, relying on blended learning to optimise the cost to educate and solve the pressing issue of teacher scarcity in sub-Saharan Africa. Together with like-minded co-investors Finnfund and Imaginable Future, we are thrilled to support SPARK’s mission to provide access to such an essential service to the many, and shape tomorrow’s world. SPARK has the potential to become a champion pioneering affordable private education in Africa.”

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