Connecting capital to classrooms to improve student learning outcomes and learning environments through intentional financing. Incentives for Learning introduces a commercially viable loan product that uses financial incentives to motivate school owners to improve learning outcomes. When schools achieve targeted learning levels, they receive reduced capital costs as rewards.
Funding Catalyst
Connecting capital to drive learning in classrooms in Kenya
The Incentives for Learning (IfL) programme tackles a critical challenge: while enrolment in low-cost private schools (LCPS) across Kenya has surged, learning outcomes have not kept pace. Many schools continue to face barriers in accessing the financing they need to improve learning environments.
Global Schools Forum, in partnership with IDP Foundation, is leading this innovative initiative, funded by The Waterloo Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. Working alongside local financial institutions Jackfruit Finance and Premier Credit, with IDinsight as the impact management partner, the programme introduces incentive-linked loans that reward schools for measurable improvements in learning outcomes.
This partnership reflects our commitment to connecting funders with locally led education-focused organisations, creating pathways that expand impact and inform system-level decision-making.
Supporting schools beyond financial rewards
Every IfL loan is connected to foundational literacy and numeracy assessments, administered by IDinsight, that determine eligibility for a financial reward. These assessments are accompanied by a school-level survey which provides valuable insights into school operations and learning environments.
All participating schools, regardless of reward qualification, receive individualised report cards highlighting improvement areas compared to peers and their baseline. To support continuous improvement, we’ve established a dedicated resource hub linking open-source tools, materials, case studies, and local partner networks. This reflects our commitment to amplifying knowledge and offering practical support to help schools access the guidance they need.
Our intended impact
150
schools will be impacted through IFL loans
40,000
students will improve learning outcomes
$300,000+
worth of IfL loans will be disbursed
$40,000+
worth of rewards linked to learning improvements will be disbursed
300+
resources, tools and case studies are shared to guide schools towards learning improvement
Financial incentives to drive learning improvements
IfL introduces a commercially viable loan product that uses financial incentives to motivate school owners to improve learning outcomes. When schools achieve targeted learning levels, they receive reduced capital costs as rewards.
This embedded incentive model creates a fundamental behaviour shift, making learning outcomes a business priority. This shift cascades from proprietors to school leaders and teachers, fostering improved practices at classroom level that benefit all enrolled children across 150 low-cost private schools.
By capturing and refining what works through this innovation, we’re building practical knowledge that can be shared across our global community of practitioners. We’re proving that financial incentives can be sustainably tied to learning outcomes – creating evidence-backed solutions that can grow and adapt.
Building evidence through rigorous evaluation
We’re generating robust, locally grounded evidence to inform practice and policy decisions. Whilst actively assessing learning improvements across 150 schools receiving IfL loans, we’re comparing outcomes with 150 control schools in our partners’ traditional loan portfolios.
This rigorous approach establishes the true impact of financial incentives on learning outcomes. By supporting our community in generating this knowledge, we’re ensuring innovations reach funders, policymakers, and multilaterals globally, amplifying grassroots solutions to influence system-level conversations.
Designing sustainable solutions for scale
Our tiered reward structure ties literacy and numeracy benchmarks to a data study conducted with 100 LCPS in Kenya. Rewards range from 35% to 100% interest reduction across tiers, motivating continuous improvement whilst ensuring commercial viability for financial institutions.
We’re meticulously documenting the entire journey, from design to rewards to learning improvement. Using a test and iterate approach with key delivery partners, we’re establishing good practices across loan product design, officer training, marketing, reward administration, and feedback resource usability. This work will inform a ‘sustainability blueprint’ for replication across diverse contexts.
Reliable assessment methods for meaningful impact
In partnership with IDinsight, we’ve established a robust, cost-effective assessment approach that compares three foundational literacy and numeracy tools, develops grade-specific benchmarks aligned with Kenya’s CBC curriculum, and provides teachers with meaningful reference points for interpreting student performance.
Our reward formula accounts for teachers’ predictions of student performance, ensuring schools receive positive scores for accurately assessing ability, even when students perform below expectations. Interactive, gamified tablet-based assessments minimise fatigue whilst ensuring reliable data, linking assessment directly to instructional decisions that improve learning.
