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Even with an immense population, the Mankhurd area in Mumbai has only one government school— and that school only goes through Grade 7. The principal of the Deonar Municipal School, the lone government school in Mankhurd, says that if a student wants to attend school beyond that, they have to take an hour-long bus ride each way to Chembur—or attend private school. The NGO Akanksha estimates that 200,000 people live in the Lallubhai Compound, a “slum resettlement” government housing facility. Sixteen ten-story buildings are built within a ten-acre campus.

Even as tiny for-profit low-cost private schools mushroom across developing countries, the sector is also seeing a quieter trend of consolidation. This consolidation is seen in terms of school brands that are garnering schools under one brand name to leverage the benefits of collective effort. Bridge International Academies’ school-in-a-box allows local operators to provide quality education in Africa. Omega Schools partners likewise with school proprietors in Ghana. Rumi Education partners with existing schools in India to create Rumi Schools of Excellence. 

Whenever we ask parents why they have chosen to take a portion of their hard- earned income to send their children to an Affordable Private School (APS), we have noticed a consensus. While English instruction ranks high on the list, we hear time and time again that what moms and dads really love about private schools is the accountability. “Teachers actually show up to teach!” they say. “And if they don’t, they don’t get paid!”

Enterprising Schools is a nonprofit effort focused on developing entrepreneurial solutions to the lack of quality education worldwide.  The bulk of the movement's efforts focus on the concept of the "affordable private school" (APS): entrepreneur-led schools, mostly in slum areas, in emerging markets that charge prices that families living below the poverty line can afford ($2-$5/month).