Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly officially opened four schools to mark the first phase of the Cosmic Village land development initiative. This collaborative effort between the country’s sovereign fund and the private sector aims to convert the unused Cosmic Village land into a comprehensive educational hub.
The project, implemented through a partnership between The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) and the private sector, aims to provide world-class, affordable education to middle-income Egyptian families, according to a statement issued in October.
“The Cosmic Village’s school complex is considered as one of the development projects that are in line with the country’s vision that education is one of the most important priorities to achieve the desired development,” Planning Minister Hala El-Said said.
She added that the project is in line with the country’s focus on education as one of the most important priorities for the achievement of ‘desired development’ and the country’s Vision 2030 agenda.
New investment model
The first phase includes the establishment of five schools and a sports club. The four schools inaugurated include the Westview International Language School (WILS), Scholars International Language School (SILS), Regent School, and the Future Tech School. For the fifth school of the first phase, a partnership contract will soon be signed.
Two schools, namely Westview International Language School (WILS), and Scholars International Language School (SILS), were developed by Mobica Integrated Industries and are managed by Egypt Education Platform (EEP), Meanwhile, Cairo Investment and Real Estate Development Company (CIRA) partnered with Elsewedy Capital to develop “Regent School”, which is managed by Eduhive. Future Tech School is also built and managed by CIRA.
The number of students in the four schools hit 1,000, while the target involves increasing the number to 10,000 once the first phase is completed.
A partnership contract for the establishment of the fifth school (a French school) will soon be signed, TSFE revealed in the statement.
“We have successfully developed and implemented a unique investment model that allows us to harmonize investment returns with the goals of economic and social development, all in collaboration with the private sector,” stated Ayman Soliman, CEO of TSFE, in the statement.
He added that the Fund seeks to replicate this successful model across Egypt to improve the quality of educational services provided by the private sector and equip students with the skills needed in the current and future labor market.
Education investments
El-Said added that during the financial year (FY) 2023-24, a nine-fold increase was seen in public investments in the education sector as it reached $2.5 billion (EGP 76.2 billion), compared to FY 2014-15 levels.
