South African Enko Education Raises 1.4 Mn Pre-Series B To Solve Africa’s Education Challenges

Johannesburg-based African international schools network Enko Education has secured USD 1.4 Mn in Pre-Series B from a league of private and institutional investors. The transaction which was closed in record time while being largely oversubscribed, was assisted by investment bank LiquidAfrica. 

Enko Education was founded in 2013 to increase access to high-quality international education for young people in Africa. In August 2016, it got an equity investment from Proparco and I&P.

In 2017, it raised USD 1.1 Mn from a pool of private and institutional investors. Having raised this fresh round, the platform latches onto raising another USD 11 Mn before the year ends – for the second tranche of its Series B. 

According to Cyril Nkontchou, co-founder and Chairman of Enko, the new round was secured in just two months, a record time which demonstrates the keen interest investors have in its education model. The platform’s approach has seen significant progress in trying to address the education challenges in Africa. 

Nearly 60 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa between the ages of 15 and 17 are not in school. The continent has the highest rate of educational exclusion in the world.

Also, over one-fifth of children between the ages of 6 and 11 and one-third between the ages of 12 and 14 are out of school. Enko revealed that two-thirds of the new investors are Africans from seven different countries.

Eric Pignot, co-founder and CEO of Enko Education, said: “These funds will allow us to deliver our strategic plan, so as to reach 60 schools and 20,000 students by 2026.”

December last year, the group acquired the International Pre-University College (IPC) in Johannesburg to increase its South African footprint. Before this, Enko bought the West African College of the Atlantic (WACA) in Dakar, Senegal, in February 2018.

A growth strategy built around four main lines of action: developing the existing schools, opening new ones, acquisitions, and expanding the company’s school operator model.

The company says the model has already yielded remarkable  results, as its graduates are currently enrolled in some of the most prestigious universities worldwide such as Yale College in the USA, Science Po and Ecole Polytechnique in France, the University of Toronto in Canada, the African Leadership University in Rwanda and the Capital University of Economics and Business in China.

Enko Education group opened its first school in Yaoundé, Cameron, in 2014. Since then, it has established an African network of 14 international schools in 8 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

More than 2,000 students from primary to secondary currently benefit from quality international education and individualized counseling in their applications to the world’s best universities.

To date, Enko boasts as the largest network of African schools offering International Baccalaureate programs and was the first educational institution to kick-start these programs in 5 countries.