With an objective to improve the education of over 200,000 primary school students from marginalised communities in India, Britain’s Prince Charles has on February 7, 2018 launched a new 10-million-dollar Development Impact Bond (DIB).
“We are launching a 10-million-dollar Development Impact Bond that will improve education for more than 200,000 children in India,” Prince Charles said at Buckingham Palace.
The largest bond of its type in South Asia, the DIB is the latest fundraising initiative by the British Asian Trust (BAT). It was set up by him 10 years ago to fight poverty in South Asia.
“This will be the largest bond of its type in the region and will, I hope, offer a compelling model for a more effective approach to philanthropy at scale,” he said while celebrating the 10th anniversary of the British Asian Trust.
Supported by the UK government’s Department for International Development (DfID), Comic Relief, the Mittal Foundation and the UBS Optimus Foundation, the new bond will attract new capital into development projects with prime focus on data and evidence.
“These bonds are an innovative and, I think, a tremendously effective way of raising the funds needed to address some of the greatest challenges in the region at the kind of scale necessary to make a significant difference,” he said.
Designed to improve literacy and numeracy learning levels for primary school students from marginalised communities in the country, the DIB will provide funding to local not-for-profit delivery partners in India over four years. It will deliver a range of operational models including principal and teacher training, direct school management and supplementary programmes under this this initiative.
“This is the most exciting period in the Trust’s history. We have had an enormous impact on the lives of millions of people and everything is in place to substantially scale this up in the years ahead,” Manoj Badale, chairman of the British Asian Trust, said, adding, “.It is a privilege to be involved with such a dynamic and innovative charity.”