EFG Hermes-backed K-12 operator Spark Education Platform (SEP) is expanding its presence in the Gulf with a strategic partnership with GEMS Education’s school advisory initiative First School Management (FSM) to launch GEMS-branded schools in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, according to a joint statement (pdf). This marks the first intellectual property agreement under FSM’s global advisory initiative.

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The details: FSM will provide advisory and operational support to SEP, which currently operates four schools in Saudi Arabia with a total capacity exceeding 10k+ students and plans to expand to 20 schools with 20k enrolled students across the GCC over the next five years.

What they said: “After our great success story in Egypt, I am honored to expand our partnership with First School Management into Saudi Arabia and Bahrain as key GCC markets with significant demand for new high-quality K-12 education capacities,” Co-CEO of EFG Hermes Karim Moussa said.

REFRESHER- SEP is backed by the USD 300 mn Saudi Education Fund, which was launched in November 2024 by our friends at EFG Hermes. SEF plans to deploy its capital over the next three years, with a primary focus on the Kingdom, alongside its ventures in the UAE and Bahrain.

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