The Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Global Partnerships for Education (GPE), has held a private sector & philanthropy dialogue on education with the theme ‘Unlocking Nigeria’s Future Potential Through Quality Learning for Productivity’.
The high-level engagement presents the government’s education reforms under the NESRI 6-point agenda and aligns private sector leaders around structured investment mechanisms for education.
Present at the event were the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa; the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad; the Founder of Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia; and the Deputy Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Lacapo Foti. Others were the British Deputy High Commissioner, Jonny Baxter; the CEO, Flour Mills, Omoboyede Olusanya; the Director, West Africa, Google Org, Olumide Balogun; the Senior Education Specialist, GPE, Lucinda Ramos; and the CEO, Kuramo Capital Management, Wale Adeosun.
The Group Managing Director, Sahara Group, Kola Adesina; the CEO, Africa Finance Corporation, Samaila Zubairu; and other stakeholders.
The National Education Sector Reform Initiative 2026-2030 (NESRI) and Nigeria’s Partnership Compact (2024-2027) focus on foundational and 21st-century skills, out-of-school children, gender equality, and learning poverty. The NESRI six-point agenda includes Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET), STEM, out-of-school children and Almajiri, data and digitalisation, girl-child education, and education quality assurance.
With the GPE multiplier, private sector contributions will be matched by public and donor resources, effectively amplifying the impact of every dollar across the education system.
The event aims to showcase Nigeria’s education reform priorities under NESRI; engage business leaders and philanthropic organisations in shaping education partnerships; identify opportunities to mobilise private investment and innovation in education; identify practical partnerships to strengthen skills development and workforce readiness; and agree on priority areas for continued partnership and follow-up action, among others.
Private sector engagement can now support education reforms with strategic investment in education initiatives, supporting infrastructure, learning resources, and programmes that strengthen education outcomes at scale, skills Development, workforce training & technical and vocational education partnerships
According to the minister of education, the private sector is key to achieving reforms in the education sector, and a public-private sector working committee will be created to develop a framework for monitoring the private sector investment in education in the country.
For the senior education specialist at the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Lucinda Ramos, the focus has to remain on giving all children access to foundational education, and she calls for mutual accountability between all parties.
Baxter said, “The Global Partnership for Education continues to support Nigeria to strengthen its education system at scale, improving foundational learning, reaching the most marginalised, and aligning domestic reform with international finance. We also warmly congratulate Italy and Nigeria on their global co-leadership of the 2026 replenishment of the Global Partnership for Education.
“This is an important signal of shared responsibility and ambition to mobilise the financing needed to expand quality education for the world’s most marginalised children. Together, LEAF and GPE show how innovation at the state level and reform at the national level can reinforce one another – crowding in public, private, and philanthropic capital to build the human capital that underpins growth, stability, and opportunity.”
