Project: Ghana Education Outcomes Fund
State of development: Launched
Stage of development: Early stage
Stage notes: The project grant agreement was signed with the World Bank and Government of Ghana in July 2020. The procurement process for service providers, investors and the independent verification agent is ongoing
Type of instrument — Impact Bond: No; Outcomes Fund: Yes; Social Impact Incentives (SIINC): No; Social Impact Guarantee: No; Payment-by-results (no pre-financing): No; Technical Assistance and Market-building program: No; Other: 
Part of a larger outcomes-based financing program: Yes The Education Outcomes Fund is a component of the World Bank’s Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP). GALOP provides funding for outcomes (IDA, IBRD, and Global Partnership for Education funding) in education aimed at improving the quality of education in low performing basic education schools and strengthening education sector equity and accountability in Ghana
Expected launch date: Q3 - 2022
Total expected project development time: >24 months
Expected length of project (years): 5
Project design process began: Q3-2018
Rationale for using outcome-based finance: This intervention allows Ghana’s Ministry of Education to use limited existing resources more effectively by linking financing with impact and increasing emphasis on results. This model further improves collaboration among a multitude of stakeholders, brings in private sector expertise, and provides service providers the flexibility for innovative solutions to address specific education challenges for children in Ghana, and in particular OOSC/girls. Opportunity to align well-established non-state based education providers with Government priorities (as programme to be Gov-led) and greater accountability.
Role of the domestic government — Outcomes funder: Yes; Service provider: No; Member of project committee: No; No formal role: No; Other: Project Implementing Agency
Service providers identified and selected — Request-for-proposals: Yes; Direct contracting by outcome funder/investor/intermediary: No; Provider-led deal development: No; Other: 
Feasibility study: Yes
Proposed financing instruments — Debt: No; Equity: No; Guarantee: No; Grant: Yes; Other: Working capital from investors
Technical assistance grant: Yes — FCDO provided a grant to cover preparation costs
Estimated maximum potential outcome payment: 30000000 USD
Overall project finance notes: US$30 million ($25.5 million GPRBA grant from FCDO, $4.5 million Government of Ghana)
Social/developmental challenge: Whilst Ghana has made progress in expanding access to education, there are still over 450,000 primary-aged children who are out-of-school. For children in-school, learning outcomes are poor. In terms of years of schooling, though children in the country are expected to complete on average 11.6 years of schooling, 5.7 of these years are lost due to poor school content.
Expected intervention model: Ghana’s Ministry of Education will work with social investors and NGOs as service providers to implement the program, with the objectives of re-integrating OOSC into Ghana’s mainstream school system through an accelerated learning program and improving learning outcomes in the schools in which these children are placed, with special emphasis on girls’ education. The project will also help build sustainable capacity in targeted schools.  Investors will provide the upfront financing in cases where service providers are unable to do so. Outcome payments to investors and/or service providers will be based on agreed-upon outcomes, and technical assistance will be provided for building government capacity to contract and manage outcomes.
Policy sectors — Employment and private sector development: No; Education: Yes; Social protection: No; Criminal justice: No; Health: No; Agriculture: No; Environment and climate change: No; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: No; Energy: No; Humanitarian: No; Early Childhood Education: ; Other: 
Secondary SDG goals: 4
Target population: Out of school children (OOSC) and primary school children grades P1-P4 attending a subset of GALOP beneficiary schools in which OOSC are placed. Emphasis placed on girls.
Targeted number of unique service users or beneficiaries: 200000
Unit type of targeted beneficiaries: Individual
Country income classification of beneficiaries — Low-income: No; Lower-middle-income: Yes; Upper-middle-income: No; High-income: No
Beneficiary notes: Around 120,000 (80,000 OOSC in areas with the highest absentee and dropout rates, including in Accra, and 120,000 in-school beneficiaries in 600 beneficiary schools)
Notes: Data for this pipeline project was last updated in March 2024
Delivery location: Ghana