The case for education is understood. Businesses know they need educated workforces. They know that they thrive when they successfully recruit young people with skills relevant to creating business value and productivity.
Similarly, education is popular among philanthropists because they appreciate its value to societal cohesion and economic growth, with several organizations that back education now becoming household names.
Yet with just five years remaining to achieve the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goal 4 in education, we face a stark reality: Business and philanthropy networks hold untapped potential to drive systemic change, yet remain critically undersupported.
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About the authors
Justin van Fleet
Justin van Fleet is chief executive officer of the Global Business Coalition for Education and president of children’s charity Theirworld. He previously served as the director of the International Commission on Financing Global Education, chief of staff to the U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, and as a fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Laura Savage
Laura Savage is the executive director of the International Education Funders Group, the largest global network of philanthropies funding education. She was formerly senior education adviser and deputy head of education research at the U.K.’s Department for International Development.
