(Press Release) The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, has approved a $5 million equity investment in the Quality to Education (Q2E) Fund, a venture capital fund that will provide financing and strategic, technical and operational advice to private high schools in Latin America that seek to incorporate innovative technologies. The Fund will be operated by Q2E, a recently established Latin American fund management company with specific expertise in the fields of education technology and private equity.
Q2E will focus on small, private remedial schools willing to implement a “blended learning” model, which combines traditional teaching methods with online and interactive technologies. Blended learning is a groundbreaking approach that seeks to maximize education quality while maintaining affordable prices, enabling schools to reach broader segments of middle and lower-middle class students. Guided by its leadership’s expertise in education and technology, Q2E will work with firms to develop and implement blended learning models for participating schools. Q2E’s efforts are believed to be the first introduction of this new approach to education in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
The investments made by Q2E are expected to have economic and social benefits in terms of fostering entrepreneurship, creating direct and indirect employment, and expanding education opportunities to more diverse populations.
The MIF’s investment in the Fund will play a catalytic role in supporting the development of the local venture capital industry, building local management capabilities, demonstrating the financial viability of investment vehicles focused on education, and mobilizing critical investors and stakeholders.
Said MIF team leader Susana Garcia-Robles, “The investment in Q2E is a double breakthrough. It pioneers the use of venture capital in secondary education and the use of technology to improve education quality and reach. If successful, it may lead to radical changes in both fronts.”
For nearly two decades, the MIF has been an active investor in seed and venture capital funds in Latin America and the Caribbean, and continues to play a leading role in the development of conducive ecosystems to finance entrepreneurship in the region.