On 2 June 2026, senior philanthropy leaders, private sector entrepreneurs, government ministers, and representatives from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) gathered in Paris to mark the formal launch of the Foundation for GPE, backed by the Jacobs Foundation. The new Foundation is designed to power GPE’s mission of transforming education in lower-income countries by partnering with private and philanthropic actors.
Representing the Jacobs Foundation at the launch event, Simon Sommer, Co-CEO and a Board Member for the Foundation for GPE, attended and participated in the event alongside high-level stakeholders and strategic partners, including the Minister of Education for Nigeria, Hon. Tunji Alausa; International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd); the Jannik Sinner Foundation; UBS Optimus Foundation; and Cisco Networking Academy. The newly established organization aims to mobilize actors from across the public, private, multilateral, and philanthropic sectors to align investment in education initiatives with national education priorities—ensuring that any new additional money is guided by what works for children.
Foundation for GPE’s inception comes at a critical point for education. There is widespread recognition that education is an essential pathway not only for ensuring children have basic literacy and numeracy skills, but also for driving long-term national development. The formal launch marks a major milestone in the effort to mobilize new, diverse, and flexible resources across over 90 countries. Rather than relying solely on traditional grant structures, the Foundation for GPE is designed to catalyze more financing for education and operate with a higher risk appetite.
For the Jacobs Foundation, supporting this new vehicle reflects a core belief that more financing alone does not guarantee better learning outcomes. True progress depends on ensuring that new funding streams support evidence-based approaches that systematically strengthen national education priorities. By embedding rigorous data, research, and technical collaboration into these new financing mechanisms, the Jacobs Foundation aims to ensure that global resource mobilization directly transforms classroom realities. The Foundation for GPE provides an ideal, country-led model to bridge this gap, unlocking scale while maximizing long-term impact.
The launch coincides with GPE’s broader Multiply Possibility campaign, co-hosted by the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, and the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The campaign aims to mobilize $5 billion and unlock an additional $10 billion for education, multiplying learning opportunities for nearly 750 million children. This momentum builds directly toward the Global Education Summit 2026, set to take place at the UN General Assembly this September.