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São Paulo, May 16, 2016
— IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announces an investment of $40 million to support the expansion of Anima, one of the leading private education groups in Brazil. IFC’s eight-year loan will help expand quality and affordable education for more students in Brazil, particularly those from low and middle-income families.
IFC’s has been an equity investor in Anima since 2013, when the company launched an initial public offering. With this new investment, IFC will continue to support the company’s expansion plans, which includes the opening of new campuses, investment in working capital and new acquisitions. Currently 98,000 students in four different states in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil are beneficiaries of Anima’s high quality education courses.
Daniel Castanho, Anima Education’s CEO, said shared goals have helped IFC and Anima build this lasting business relationship. “We are honored to have IFC as our partner, supporting our goal of helping to promote the development of education in Brazil,” he said. “We are happy to be able to share with IFC our belief in the power of education.” Castanho added that “we admire IFC’s worldwide work in this sector, and want to support the cause of helping to transform the country through education.”
By international standards, a relatively small share of students pursue higher education in Brazil. The country’s higher education Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) is about 32 percent, which is much lower than that of other countries in Latin America. GER for Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, for example, is above 60 percent. Improving access to postsecondary education is critical for increasing Brazil's competitiveness and its ability to innovate, and is a strategic priority for IFC’s work in the country.
“IFC is pleased to offer further support for the expansion of access to quality and affordable private education in Brazil”, says Carmen Valéria de Paula, IFC Principal Investment Officer of Health and Education in Brazil. “We are especially glad to support Anima’s expansion, including distance-learning platforms which will benefit more students throughout Brazil.”
IFC has been investing in Brazil’s private sector since 1956, addressing the country’s most critical development challenges, including those of urbanization, social inclusion, competitiveness and productivity, and management of natural resources. IFC is the largest multilateral investor in private education in emerging markets. Over the past 15 years, IFC has invested over $1.5 billion in education projects in 39 countries. IFC plays a counter-cyclical role by providing the necessary long-term financing to sectors that are key for a long-term sustainable development of the country. Since 2009, IFC has already committed $356 million in education projects in Brazil alone.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise and influence to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY15, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
About Anima
For more than ten years, Anima has been working with postsecondary, corporate, and basic education. The company has the goal of transforming the country through education, with innovative learning methodology, respect to diversity, focus on people, and commitment to sustainable development. The company is listed in BM&FBOVESPA’s New Market and, for the last four years, was awarded one of the Best Companies to Work For, chosen by GPTW Consultants and Epoca Magazine. The group is comprised of São Judas Tadeu University (São Paulo), four university centers -two in the state of Minas Gerais (Una e UniBH), one in São Paulo, one in Santos city (Unimonte), and one in Joinville (UNISOCIESC) – as well as colleges in Betim, Contagem, Curitiba, Florianópolis and Blumenau. HSM Executive Education, reference in educational solutions for executives and leaders, also integrates the group. For more information on Anima, visit
http://www.animaeducacao.com.br/
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