ADAP Fund 2 - 8B Education Investments - December 23rd 2020

ADAP Capital LLC is delighted to have closed its investment in 8B Education Investments. This is ADAP Fund 2’s 9th portfolio investment (20th for ADAP to date).

8B Education Investments (8B) is the first fintech company to use innovative guarantees and income- share agreements to facilitate affordable financing for African students attending leading global universities. By aligning incentives for investors, donors and universities, 8B enables students to obtain a world-class education they otherwise could not afford. The company’s goal is to ensure that African countries have access to future leaders equipped to innovate, compete, and thrive in the knowledge economy of the 21st century.

“I was fortunate to access the type of education that millions of my fellow Kenyans dream of, but which remains out of reach for so many on the African continent. We want to create more opportunities for all students who grew up in a similar background to mine but haven’t been as lucky to win the scholarship ‘lottery’ as I was,” said 8B Founder & CEO Dr. Lydiah Kemunto Bosire. “My experience of working at the UN and the World Bank showed me the importance of building an Africa fit for purpose in a world whose demographic dynamics will be dominated by the continent into the foreseeable future. It also gave me an appreciation of the critical role that innovative financing can play to help scale the supply of capital required to meet the demand.”

In addition to helping students connect with the necessary financing, 8B utilizes its proprietary risk- scoring model and its database of African university graduates to predict earning potential and lending risk, thereby building the credit infrastructure for Africa’s future borrowers. 8B also uses its platform to help universities to diversify international enrollment, democratize information to students, and create an ecosystem for graduates to succeed. 8B’s goal over the coming decade is to unlock over $1bn in financing, to see African global enrollment increase tenfold, and to see system-wide change led by the next generation of ecosystem builders.

“The business of 8B provides an innovative solution to the massive education inequalities that have such devastating consequences on emerging economies across Africa. Dr. Bosire’s background and approach are unique, and have potential to lead to massive impact” said Andy Lower, ADAP Founder. “We are excited to use our ADAP Advisory structure to help 8B further develop their model and support them as they raise the necessary capital to scale. Their approach fits in with our belief that designed inclusion is critical to long-term sustainable development and lasting impact.

ADAP Capital has a diverse portfolio of pioneering social entrepreneurs who have innovative models that are eradicating extreme poverty in emerging markets. By investing early and then partnering with the entrepreneurs as they work through the pioneer gap, ADAP creates and captures untapped value.