The Jacobs Foundation announces SCALE: a landmark initiative to transform education in Ghana

The Jacobs Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of the System Change Architecture for Learning Excellence (SCALE)—a groundbreaking multi-stakeholder initiative designed to strengthen education systems and improve learning outcomes in Ghana.

In partnership with the Ghanaian Ministry of Education, SCALE aims to significantly enhance the successful Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP). Building on GALOP’s achievements, including training over 72,000 teachers, SCALE will expand differentiated learning approaches to more than 15,000 schools, directly benefiting 2 million Ghanaian children.

A consortium of philanthropic and industry partners, including the Jacobs Foundation, Fondation Botnar, UBS Optimus Foundation, and 10 leading cocoa and chocolate companies, has collectively raised USD 40 million to fund this initiative. This significant commitment unlocked an additional USD 40 million from the Global Partnership for Education’s Multiplier Fund, setting a new precedent for public-private-philanthropic partnerships.

The SCALE partnership was formally launched at a high-level signing ceremony in Accra in May 2025, attended by key representatives including the Ghanaian Minister of Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, senior colleagues from the Jacobs Foundation, and leaders from the education and cocoa sectors.

Combined with further contributions from the GPE Systems Transformation Grant and the Early Learning Partnership Multi-Donor Trust Fund, SCALE now mobilizes a total of USD 118.8 million in supplementary financing for Ghana’s national education strategy. The funding will also support the expansion of the Communities of Excellence program and establish the Ghana Education Evidence and Data Lab (GEEDLab). Housed within the Ministry of Education, GEEDLab will play a critical role in driving evidence-based policymaking, ensuring that education decisions are informed by data and community needs.

The SCALE initiative takes inspiration from the successful Child Learning and Education Facility (CLEF) in Côte d’Ivoire, recognized by the World Bank as a model for collaborative education financing. It showcases how pooling resources and aligning diverse stakeholders can create sustainable, systemic change.

Besides the financial commitment, the SCALE partnership offers the expertise of a broad range of organizations who have helped to transform the way in which evidence is applied to education. SCALE will build on the successes of other international models, including the Jacobs Foundation-led Child Learning and Education Facility (CLEF) in Côte d’Ivoire which has been recognized by the World Bank. In Ghana, we expect 2 million children to benefit from evidence-based learning that will extend across 100 cocoa districts.

Simon Sommer, Co-CEO at the Jacobs Foundation

Simon Sommer, Co-CEO at the Jacobs Foundation

As global education faces unprecedented funding challenges, SCALE exemplifies the Jacobs Foundation’s commitment to innovative partnerships and evidence-based solutions, reinforcing our mission to provide equitable and quality education for every child.