Project: Sierra Leone Education Innovation Challenge (SLEIC)
State of development: Launched
Stage of development: Final negotiations
Stage notes: (Close to contract signature, to begin implementation in September 2022)
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: No 
Expected launch date: Q3 - 2022
Total expected project development time: >24 months 
Expected length of project (years): 3
Project design process began: Q1-2020
Rationale for using outcome-based finance: Outcomes based financing is being used to achieve improvements in learning outcomes by engaging with non-state actors and aligning incentives to improve learning. The programme is meant to inform the Government on what to scale in the future in the education sector. 
Key challenges to launch: Delayed and reduced funding due to COVID-19 pandemic. 
Role of the domestic government — Outcomes funder: Yes; Service provider: No; Member of project committee: Yes; No formal role: No; Other: 
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: 
Technical assistance grant: No — 
Estimated maximum potential outcome payment: 18400000 USD
Overall project finance notes: Total programme funding is 18.389M USD. Out of those, over 10M USD will be used for payments to investors/providers. The remaining budget is meant to cover the project costs, including the outcomes evaluation.
Social/developmental challenge: A child born in Sierra Leone can expect to complete just 8.9 years of school (or 4.5 years when adjusted for learning) by the time they turn 18, out of a total of 12 years of formal education expected by this age. The 2014 Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) found that 87% of Grade 2 students were unable to read a single word, and that 97% received zero marks on the reading and comprehension assessment. By Primary 4, 60% of children still scored zero on the same reading comprehension test.
Girls face more challenges than boys with regards to education due to teenage pregnancy (the ban for pregnant girls participating in education was lifted only in April 2020), early forced marriages, school related Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and poor in-school sanitation facilities. As such, the Government has prioritized girls education as part of their policy agenda.
Expected intervention model: 5 service providers will be chosen to implement 5 distinct interventions across 5 geographical lots. Specific interventions TBD.
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: Children enrolled in P1 to P6 across public schools in Sierra Leone, with special focus on girls (outcomes priced 20% higher than those of boys)
Targeted number of unique service users or beneficiaries: 134000
Unit type of targeted beneficiaries: Individual
Country income classification of beneficiaries — Low-income: Yes; Lower-middle-income: No; Upper-middle-income: No; High-income: No
Notes: Data for this pipeline project was last updated in March 2024
Delivery location: Sierra Leone