Education

Education is one of the most powerful tools for reducing poverty. It narrows gaps in societies (e.g. gender, ethnicity, socio-economic background) and lays the foundation for all young people to reach their full potential. Beyond the value to the individual, education contributes to greater productivity, innovation and economic growth. Investing in education at every level brings positive public returns to governments. The acquisition of skills is increasingly critical in competitive economies, while higher levels of education translate into better health outcomes and greater levels of civic participation.

Through our education portfolio, we support the development of strong learning foundations, from a child’s early years all the way through to securing employment.

Chronic stress

725 million children living in poor households are at risk of experiencing chronic stress due to the burden of poverty

Lack of foundational skills

387 million primary school age children globally were not achieving minimum levels of proficiency in reading and math, even before the pandemic. Most of these children are living in poverty-stricken countries, predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Unequal access

Out-of-school children are disproportionately located in low, lower-middle income, and conflict-affected countries

Unequal learning

53% of children in low- and middle-income countries were unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10, even before the pandemic

Family life

In resource-constrained environments, families do not always have the support and services they need to stabilize, impacting children's ability to learn.

Taking action

Education is one of the largest portfolios and longest-standing focus areas of UBS Optimus Foundation. We seek to deliver long-term and system-wide solutions to a learning crisis that’s leaving more than half of primary-aged children without basic skills. Our work also aims to enable the conditions that lead to better learning. We believe that supporting the most disadvantaged in their foundational years will reduce inequities in education and put the most vulnerable on a path to long-term success.

We build on strong partnerships such as being a founding partner of the Child Learning and Education Facility (CLEF) – a public-private partnership between the government of Côte d'Ivoire, the Jacobs Foundation and fifteen cocoa companies that aims to mobilize up to CHF 110 million to build schools and improve education for children in cocoa-growing regions. UBS Optimus Foundation has also partnered with an outcomes specialist to launch a pioneering initiative which aims to invest USD 100 million in 15 to 20 SDG-aligned outcomes-based programs.

Today, low- and lower-middle-income countries face a yearly financing gap of USD 97 billion to meet their national SDG4 targets. Being linked to a global wealth manager, we can help bridge the gap, providing flexible, patient, ‘fit-for-purpose’ capital across the impact spectrum.

Want to learn more?

Learning for life: A guide to bring quality education to all features over 30 experts in education and child development. Inside this guide you’ll find concrete tips on how to embrace a holistic approach and will help you consider the part you’ll play in providing inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Download the Learning for life guide today.

Beds in a hospital ward to represent primary healthcare

Early childhood education and care

Investing into children’s earliest years is proven to be the most cost-effective, significant, and long-lasting investment into their future. As early childhood is a period of high dependency on adults, this includes working with caregivers to build the conditions that allow them to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

One of our core programs is high-quality and affordable childcare, which is a critically important element in supporting women's economic empowerment.

Foundational skills through quality education

Foundational skills refer to basic numeracy, literacy, and socio-emotional skills. These skills are acquired in primary education and are the foundations of a child´s education. Because learning is cumulative, if children do not master foundational skills, they will not be able to engage in more advanced topics in later grades and they will stop learning or drop out.

UBS Optimus Foundation seeks to foster learning opportunities that support diverse learners, focusing in particular on children at-risk of falling behind such as refugee children, children in poverty, children missing in education, or children from vulnerable families whose education is often at risk of disruption and discontinuation.

Transition to employment

Our foundation is developing a comprehensive strategy for transition to employment with plans to launch and fund impactful programs by 2025. By providing young people with the skills and opportunities needed for meaningful employment, we aim to create pathways for successful careers and productive lives.

Problems

1.Chronic Stress in Early Childhood: 725 million children are at risk of chronic stress due to the burden of poverty, negatively impacting their brain development and learning potential

2. Learning poverty: Pre-pandemic, more than half of children in low- and middle-income countries were unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10

3. Education in crisis: 222 million crisis-affected children and adolescents are in need of education support and 78m are out of school

4. Youth unemployment: Almost 90% of all young people live in developing countries. Millions of youth don’t have access to education, employment, or training that can provide them with the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty.

Solutions

1. Develop affordable and scalable high quality Early care and Education (ECE) models with an intergenerational lens

2. Scale proven, child-centered learning that adapts to varying needs and supports children across foundational and socio-emotional domains

3. Adapt accelerated learning for out-of-school children to (re)enter formal schooling

4. Strengthen stakeholder-focused models targeting key influences in a child’s life (parents, children, teachers, school leaders, officials) to improve the quality of learning and create safe, nurturing environments where children can thrive

5. Scale flexible student financing models

Outcomes

1. Increased equitable access to affordable, high quality nurturing care and education

2. Children meet developmental milestones and master foundational skills at the right age

3. Successful transitions into school, across educational levels, and into employment

4. Empowered parents, educators, and caregivers

Justice, Hope and Liberty Collaborative, Bangladesh

While Bangladesh has made progress in reducing some aspects of gender inequality - such as increasing access to education for girls and boosting female workforce participation - critical challenges remain. Gender-based discrimination and violence, particularly against girls, continues to be pervasive and a persistent culture of silence and denial around sexual abuse, combined with systemic gender inequalities, contributes to the conditions that allow sexual exploitation and trafficking to flourish.

Although an estimated 30,000 girls are sexually exploited in Bangladesh (2022, U.S. Department of Labor) the issue lacks adequate attention. To confront these systemic issues, the UBS Optimus Foundation began supporting the Justice, Hope and Liberty Collaborative (JHL) eight years ago. In collaboration with the Freedom Fund and Justice and Care, JHL works to prevent exploitation, empower survivors, and shift the societal norms that enable trafficking.

Justice and Care, along with its survivor champions, recently launched survivor-owned social enterprises to develop skills for women and girls freed from sexual exploitation, providing them with market relevant skills development. The aim is for these enterprises to become fully self-sustaining and employ more survivors. According to Justice and Care, 79% of survivor households involved in the project already report better economic stability, with the project significantly boosting women’s leadership and workforce participation in rural areas. This is a rare achievement and a highlight for the initiative.

With the support of the UBS Optimus Foundation, the Freedom Fund established a Hot Spot program in Dhaka in 2021, creating a network with families, civil society organizations and the government to protect children from sexual exploitation. Initially funding four local organizations to provide direct assistance to those vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation, Freedom Fund’s efforts attracted the attention of other funders, enabling expansion to support seven partners and increase activities to include shelters for young female survivors. This demonstrates the role of catalytic impact of funding via the UBS Optimus Foundation: Justice and Care has received funding from multiple State governments since the UBS Optimus Foundation began supporting it eight years ago.

Tiny Totos, Kenya

Early childhood development is the cornerstone of future learning, behavior, and health. Yet, globally, only 20% of children have access to preschool, and just 40% benefit from necessary childcare services. In Africa, where the child population is expected to reach 1 billion by 2055, inadequate childcare is creating a human capital crisis.

Substandard care affects 33% of preschool children in Africa, causing stunted growth and significantly impacting women's earning potential after childbirth. Globally, childcare is a major barrier to women's economic equality, but the effects are most severe for impoverished women in Africa. Poor-quality childcare traps mothers, carers, and children in a cycle of poverty.

To address these challenges, Tiny Totos’s has developed a social franchise accelerator that provides informal caregivers with training and access to capital, networks and technology for learning and business management. This initiative represents a sustainable, proven and scalable solution for transforming informal care and tackling Africa’s childcare crisis. Children, regardless of their economic background, achieve age-appropriate developmental milestones, unlocking their future potential. Informal babysitters transform into motivated, profitable childcare entrepreneurs, providing high-quality care and setting new community standards. Mothers pursue their careers, and network members benefit from integrated support services that enhance their quality of life.

As of December 2024, Tiny Totos’s network had 602 daycare centers serving 15,465 children, 84% of whom are on track developmentally. The Mtoto app is used by 68% of the daycare managers use and 88% of the daycares are profitable. Tiny Totos' standardized childcare franchise network is a win-win for everyone involved, with also 621* caregivers improving their employability and employment skills. After rigorous vetting, Tiny Totos secured accreditation for their training program from the National Industrial Training Authority, the first organization in Kenya ever to achieve that.

Kidogo

In Kenya, nearly 60% of the urban population lives in informal settlements with limited access to affordable early childhood care. Mothers are often forced to leave their children in unregulated, informal daycare centers characterized by poor care, nutrition, and hygiene. In these settings, almost half of the children (46%) suffer from stunting, leaving them at risk of lifelong cognitive, emotional, and physical deficits.

Kidogo, a nonprofit organization, uses a social franchise model to empower female entrepreneurs, known as 'Mamapreneurs,' in low-income communities. Kidogo identifies women running informal daycares, who then undergo a 3-month accelerator program covering Early Childhood Development and entrepreneurship. Successful candidates receive starter kits, ongoing mentorship, and quality assurance as franchisees.

Kidogo's franchises provide affordable, high-quality early care options for disadvantaged children. The centers focus on six key elements: safe and stimulating environments, nurturing caregivers, play-based activities, health and nutrition, parent and community engagement, and business and administration. In 2024 alone, Kidogo supported 1986 Mamapreneurs with training and mentorship.

Latin America Regional Commitment to Literacy, Latin America

Instituto Natura and its partners aim to generate political momentum around prioritizing child literacy in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, covering 70% of the population of Latin America. The initiative seeks a systemic shift in collaboration among communities and civil society to create a globally recognized model of regional and state regional success, sometimes referred to as “the Latin American miracle”.

In 2024, Instituto Natura hosted the Implementation Organizations Journey, comprising four remote meetings and an immersion visit to Sobral (in the state of Ceará, Brazil), which drew 40 delegates from six countries. Participants visited schools, spoke with the Department of Education, and explored the public policies underpinning Sobral’s success.

Additionally, Instituto Natura organized the Advocacy Organizations Journey, bringing together seven national delegations (from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Nuevo León, Chile, Colombia and Peru) along with representatives from international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, UNICEF and UNESCO. Together they addressed the current state of literacy across Latin America, shared best practices on successful literacy policies and supported countries in developing action plans for literacy advocacy campaigns. The meeting concluded with discussions on the Regional Commitment to Literacy in Latin America, set to be launched in 2025.

While too early to report on outcomes, the journey marked the beginning of a deeper collaboration with implementation partners across the region. The visit provided a valuable opportunity to build shared understanding of system-wide education reform, leadership development, and local ownership - laying the groundwork for future impact in the Latin America literacy consortium.

As an early and active partner, we contributed more than just funding- sharing technical input and helping shape the direction of an ambitious regional initiative. This included early thinking on outcome measurement across countries and encouraging the development of a stronger implementation and advocacy roadmap. Our support helped frame a broader vision and build momentum for regional policy advancement.

Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Program, Ghana

In Ghana, three Swiss foundations and ten cocoa companies are putting collaborative philanthropy into practice by pooling their funding to enhance literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional learning for all children in Ghana’s primary schools. The 13 co-funders are channeling their funding through the UBS Optimus Foundation network and the Global Partnership for Education, which provides a 1:1 match for their USD 40 million to support the implementation of the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Program (GALOP). These private funds will support the roll-out of play-based methodology in all public kindergartens, help to scale teaching at the right level in primary schools, and implement community and evidence-based approaches to improve education outcomes. The alignment of all involved parties was completed in 2024, with implementation of GALOP set to commence in 2025.

Colombia Evidencia Potencial en Educación, Columbia

Colombia Evidencia Potencial en Educación (CEPE) represents a pioneering collaborative effort to enhance literacy, writing skills and socio-emotional learning among children in twelve departments of Colombia. The program is designed to bridge the expanding disparities between students from rural areas compared with urban areas and from public schools compared with private ones. Three Swiss and three Colombian foundations have pooled their funds to support initiatives selected by Communities of Change (CoC) in each of these Departments. These CoC are led by local governments and include companies, foundations, civil society and researchers that jointly define their priorities and select evidence-based initiatives to improve educational outcomes. In 2024, the set-up of the governance and co-funding mechanism for the CEPE was established, and seven CoCs conducted their prioritization activities. Implementation is set to begin in 2025, with the aim of benefiting 2 million primary school children via evidence-based programs by 2027.

Rock Your Life, Switzerland

Disadvantaged young people often face significant barriers when transitioning from school to work, resulting in unemployment or unclear career paths. Rock Your Life Switzerland aims to change through a program that includes one-to-one mentoring, educational support and career advice.

According to official statistics^1^, almost 60% of social welfare recipients in the Swiss asylum sector are children and young adults between 18 and 25. In 2024, Rock Your Life worked with the UBS Optimus Foundation network to launch a pilot scheme for unaccompanied refugee minors who have fled conflict or war zones. The program paired 193 beneficiaries (83 female and 110 male) with local mentors offering vital support with school, language and day-to-day life in a new country and culture. After successfully completing the pilot in late 2024, the organization is evaluating its impact and preparing for a second cycle.

^1^Swiss Federal Statistical Office. (2016). Asylum-related social assistance recipients by age group in Switzerland as of 30 June 2015. https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/en/1425874

Earlybird, South Africa – Impact investment

South Africa faces significant socio-economic inequality, exacerbated by factors such as unequal access to quality pre-schools. Children from poor households are 50% less likely to attend early learning programs and just 29% of children aged 4–6 years old are developmentally on track.

Earlybird delivers high-quality, early childhood developmental services to families at workplaces and in communities. Their curriculum, designed by a multidisciplinary team of early childhood development experts, includes continuous child development assessment. Operating 10 centers in 3 provinces, they serve 618 children. An external evaluation in 2022 showed a 9% improvement in child outcomes for Earlybird children over the course of a year compared with others. In 2022 an external impact evaluation using a difference-in-difference method found that children in the Earlybird program showed an additional 9% improvement in outcomes compared to similar children who did not participate in the program.

The UBS Optimus Foundation network first invested in Earlybird in 2021 and provided a further investment alongside a strategic investor in 2024 to fund expansion and working capital, with a structured exit planned for 2028. Earlybird’s aim is to double the size of its footprint in South Africa.

Future of Work Fund, managed by Chancen International, Africa – Impact investment

The Future of Work Fund, started and managed by Chancen International, is scaling up to finance the studies of 20,000 young Africans through income share agreements (ISAs). The fund finances the tuition fees of students in selected training institutions, colleges and universities. Graduates make income-based repayments once they start working and earn above the minimum income threshold, with payments capped at a maximum amount. The effectiveness of this educational investment is demonstrated by the students’ employment outcomes, which, in turn, define the amount ultimately paid for their education.

To date, Chancen International has financed nearly 5,000 students through ISAs totaling over USD 7.8m, working with 25 partner schools in Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa and Ghana. Of those students 71% come from households earning less than USD 5 per day, and 65% are women. Graduates have a 93% employment rate within one year of graduation, and 96% of the students financed are keeping up their repayments.

In early 2021, the UBS Optimus Foundation network made an anchor equity investment into the Future of Work Fund, marking the fund’s first commitment and aiming to attract additional funding through its blended finance structure. It now aims to scale to USD 40 million with a further equity investment of almost USD 3 million from the UBS Optimus Foundation network.

Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office. (2016). Asylum-related social assistance recipients by age group in Switzerland as of 30 June 2015. https://www.bfs.admin.ch/asset/en/1425874

UBS Transform Collective

Raising children in loving families

The best place for children to grow up is in a family. But despite having families who want to look after them, millions of children live in institutions like orphanages – where they're at more risk of suffering from poor health, education, and prospects. They're also at far greater risk of abuse and trafficking. Solutions that work exist, but they need to be adapted to the local contexts and brought to scale. As part of the UBS Transform Collective, you’ll be working to:

Enable vulnerable children to grow up safely in nurturing families and communities;
Redirect millions in donations away from institutions and towards quality family-based care systems;
Reform child protection systems to better protect children and strengthen families; and
Reduce the number of children living in institutions (currently around five to six million worldwide).¹

¹The Lancet (2020): “Institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation of children 2: policy and practice recommendations for global, national and local actors"

UBS Accelerate Collective

Investing in children's health, education, and the planet they live in

Every child deserves the opportunity to blossom into a well-rounded, healthy adult – equipped with everything they need to thrive in life. But millions of vulnerable children suffer from a lack of access to quality healthcare, education, and environment. Too often, they face a life spent struggling with poor health, poverty and difficulty finding work. Solutions that work exist, but we need to make them more sustainable. As part of the UBS Accelerate Collective, you'll be working to:

improve the health and education of disadvantaged children worldwide and preserve the planet where they live;
create a system where innovative ‘social finance’ investments will soon become the first choice for individuals and organizations seeking to solve social and environmental issues. Social finance is a type of investment that gives a vital financial boost to solutions whilst recycling the returns from investment capital, thereby multiplying the effect of your financial contribution. You'll be helping make social finance mainstream, attracting the massive private and commercial investments needed to give children the healthcare, education, and environment they deserve; and
support social businesses – mentoring, training, and investing in social businesses to help them grow, achieve more impact, and take their solutions to the world.

UBS CollectivesDiscover more

Meet social entrepreneur Paul Skidmore and learn how he’s creating the best schools for those who need them most through Rising Academies Network, a UBS Optimus Foundation partner.

Paul Skidmore, founder and CEO of Rising Academies

Monocle 24: How can philanthropists ensure impact in education?

Monocle 24

To mark United Nations international literacy day, we shone a spotlight on a new UBS guide: ‘Learning for Life: A Guide for Philanthropists and Changemakers to Bring Quality Education to All’. The guide explores how to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal No 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. As well as the CEO of the UBS Optimus Foundation, Maya Ziswiler, we hear from education innovator Joe Wolf of Imagine Worldwide, one of the thought leaders and innovators that UBS supports and celebrates through its Global Visionaries programme.

19 Oct 2022

Learning for life: A guide to bring quality education to all

Tom Edwards from Monocle talks to the CEO of the UBS Optimus Foundation, Maya Ziswiler and education innovator and UBS Global Visionary Joe Wolf of Imagine Worldwide to learn more about how philanthropists can ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.

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¹ United Nations (2018). Understanding the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C. Available at: https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=5188. Last consulted: October 23, 2020.
² 1: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2023). AR 6 Report
³ IPCC. (2014). AR5 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2014. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr.
⁴ IPCC. (2014). AR5 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2014. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr.

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