TRESVISTA FINANCIAL SERVICES
Government Initiatives
Recognizing the urgent need for expansion of the
education space, governments across the region have
launched various initiatives and reforms to help the
sector grow to its potential. The governments have
started taking steps to actively encourage private
sector participation in the education space. Countries
have established regulatory bodies to set standards
for education, to monitor performance of institutes,
In a significant change
from previous policies,
governments have started
taking steps to actively
encourage private sector
participation in the
education space
and for accreditation. Despite having a higher
budget allocation to expenditure, the region still lags
behind developed countries in terms of spending per
student, which indicates that there is potential for
private sector to contribute to reduce the funding gap.
Government is also taking initiatives to address the
education quality issue.
The initiatives by GCC governments will be the prime
movers for growth in the sector, since the countries
have little private sector contribution across most
industries. Government involvement becomes all the
more important in the GCC, since the region is deeply
conservative, and introducing education reforms
involves managing a huge shift in the attitude and
mindset of people.
10
Private Equity Interest in GCC
Education
The education sector in the GCC presents an attractive
opportunity for investment, as the sector is set for
unprecedented growth. However, due to the limited
number of education companies listed on regional
exchanges, private equity becomes a favorable route
for exposure to the industry. The region has witnessed
an increasing number of private equity deals in the
education space in the last few years. The growing
interest evinced by private equity players is a further
testimony to the high return potential of private
education in the region.
INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE | October 2011