Uzbekistan: Early Childhood Education Social Impact Bond

The project aims to increase access to quality early childhood education services to children ages 3-7 enrolled in preschools across Uzbekistan. The funding uses social impact bonds to incentivize private-sector service provision in urban areas of Uzbekistan. The $4.85 million grant provided by the GPRBA is complemented by and is a component of the World Bank’s Promoting Early Childhood Development Project financed through a $59.5 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA), with an additional grant of $9.5 million from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). The project aims to increase enrollment to at least 40 percent of children aged 3-7 in local preschools. Currently, only 29% of pre-school age children attend education centers.  

The Social Impact Bond (SIB) was to be launched in September 2020. After a delay in launching the procurement process to select an investor, the World Bank and Government of Uzbekistan tentatively agreed in October 2021 to restructure the project. The restructuring process is anticipated to be completed by the World Bank task team, at which time the GPRBA grant will be re-allocated and SIB component cancelled.