The Luminos Fund was born out of Legatum’s early philanthropic investments in accelerated education programmes in West Africa. These programmes laid the groundwork for what would become Luminos in 2016: a stand-alone collaborative investment fund with a mission to help the world’s most marginalised children access primary education, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where 1 in 5 children remain out of school. To date, Luminos has given over 377,000 children a second chance at learning.

“This commitment of funds is a powerful reaffirmation of Legatum’s belief in our mission and model”, said Caitlin Baron, CEO of the Luminos Fund. “At a time when humanitarian budgets across the world are coming under increasing pressure, this funding enables us to continue to grow and reach more children, to help them rediscover the joy and the opportunity of learning and give them a better chance of living their best lives. It also demonstrates that private philanthropy has a vital role to play in the provision of high impact, humanitarian support.”

Guy Cave, President of the Legatum Foundation, added, “Under Caitlin’s leadership, Luminos has achieved huge impact, directly impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of children who otherwise would have been shut out of education for the rest of their lives. Research has proven that Luminos’ programmes are one of the best buys in international education, and so this renewed funding is a big vote of confidence in Luminos, its brilliant team, and its prospects for expanding its impact in target regions.”

For journalists interested in learning more, interviews are available with Caitlin Baron, CEO at The Luminos Fund, and Guy Cave, President of the Legatum Foundation. Case studies and additional data on programme impact are also available upon request.

For more information, please email Michael Stulman, Director of Communications, The Luminos Fund.