(Business in Cameroon) – Private equity firm Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) has officially stepped away from Enko Education, ending a nine-year partnership with the international school network founded in 2013 by Cameroonian financier Cyrille Nkontchou and French entrepreneur Eric Pignot.
“I&P was the first to believe in us. Their early trust and hands-on support were a true springboard for the project,” said Enko’s CEO Eric Pignot. “Their exit marks a turning point for us a moment where we are ready to fly on our own, building on the strong foundation we created together.”
I&P joined Enko Education’s capital in 2016, two years after the launch of its very first school, Enko La Gaieté, in Yaoundé, Cameroon. That school was an offshoot of the La Gaieté education complex.
Since then, Enko has grown significantly. Today, the network teaches over 7,000 students across 16 international schools in 10 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. The schools follow a highly selective program that prepares students for the International Baccalaureate (IB), which opens doors to leading universities around the world.
So far, Enko has placed 1,700 graduates into more than 500 top global institutions, including Yale College in the United States, Sciences Po and École Polytechnique in France, the University of Toronto in Canada, the African Leadership University in Rwanda, and the Capital University of Economics and Business in China.
I&P’s exit comes at a pivotal time. In January 2025, Enko Capital’s education arm secured a CFA15 billion ($24 million) investment from Africa Capitalworks and Adiwale Partners. The new funding is aimed at tripling Enko’s student body to reach 20,000 learners by 2029.
