Health & Education

November 23, 2011 - IFC recently committed a $70 million (equivalent) loan to Estácio Participações S.A., a leading for-profit education company in Brazil, to enhance its education infrastructure and improve access to affordable high-quality services for low- and middle-income students. Estacio currently provides post-secondary education to over 200,000 students on 72 campuses.

The project will increase services to more than 100,000 students by 2015, develop a distance learning platform mainly targeting students in remote rural areas, modernize existing campuses and expand into new campuses – including in the frontier regions of north and northeast Brazil.

Raising Quality Standards

By implementing the project and improving and standardizing its operations, Estácio expects to set a benchmark which will help raise quality standards among other education institutions. It will also expand employment opportunities by creating about 1,000 jobs, half of which are expected to be allocated to women.

Part of Estácio’s success is due to a decentralized network of conveniently located campuses, updated course offerings which reflect the changing demands of the market, and a well-trained faculty.

The company also offers an extensive program of community engagement by students and professors that go beyond the hours mandated by government and include scholarships, corporate partnerships; and the provision of legal, tax, medical, dental, waste management, and other services.

Oscar Chemerinski, IFC Director, Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services Department, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, said, "Education is at the heart of IFC's efforts to create opportunity for people in developing countries to improve their lives. By supporting this project, IFC is expanding access to high-quality affordable education and helping the client reach frontier areas of Brazil where services are limited."

This is IFC’s second financing to the company. In FY11, IFC provided a loan of $30 million equivalent to Estácio.

Ludi Joseph
Sr. Communications Officer, IFC
Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services Department
Phone: 202-473-7700
Email: ljoseph@ifc.org