Cape Town /
New Delhi: Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent
Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for
Education, Government of India, participated in the Outcomes Finance
Alliance (OFA) Summit 2026, held from 25–27 March 2026 in Cape Town, South
Africa, where he underscored India’s commitment to innovative financing
mechanisms, global partnerships, and outcome-driven investments in skills and
human development.
The Outcomes Finance Alliance
Summit is a leading global platform that brings together governments,
philanthropies, investors, multilaterals, intermediaries, and delivery partners
to advance the role of outcomes-based approaches in development finance.
At the summit, Shri Jayant
Chaudhary joined a high-level opening plenary panel on “Unlocking
Public-Private Funding for Outcomes,” alongside leaders from the Government of
South Africa, the Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), and the State Secretariat for
Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland. The discussion spotlighted India’s
growing leadership in advancing outcomes-based approaches with a clear emphasis
on aligning public, private, and philanthropic capital around measurable
results in skilling, education, and livelihoods.
Speaking at the summit, Shri
Jayant Chaudhary said, “As the world navigates rapid technological and
demographic transitions, the real challenge is not only mobilising finance but
ensuring that investments translate into measurable outcomes for people.
India’s experience shows that when governments, industry, and development
partners align around outcomes, whether in skilling, education, or livelihoods,
we can unlock scalable solutions that empower youth and strengthen economic
resilience.”
In addition, the Hon’ble Minister
engaged with senior government and institutional representatives from Africa,
reaffirming the strength of India–Africa partnership and the value of
cross-country learning in addressing shared development priorities. He held
productive discussions with South African leaders including Hon. Nonceba
Mhlauli, Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, Deputy Minister
for Higher Education and Training, and Ms Melissa Erra, Acting Chief Executive
Officer, National Skills Fund (NSF), South Africa, as well as Ms Shijuade
Idowu-Tiamiyu, Permanent Board Member, Lagos State Universal Basic Education
Board (Lagos SUBEB), Nigeria. The discussions focused on shared priorities
around future-ready workforce development and the role of outcomes-based
financing (OBF) in addressing common development challenges. India and South
Africa also exchanged insights from their respective experiences in applying
OBF to skilling and employment systems — with South Africa’s Jobs Boost
initiative, and India’s Skill Impact Bond and the forthcoming Skills Outcomes
Fund, offering important lessons on the role of government in scaling and
institutionalisation.
In addition, Shri Jayant
Chaudhary held a series of productive meetings with strategic international
partners and institutions to deepen collaboration on outcomes-based financing
and development innovation. These included discussions with representatives
from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), UK Government,
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the State
Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland, and philanthropic
institutions such as the British Asian Trust and the Children’s Investment Fund
Foundation.
In these engagements Shri Jayant
Chaudhary discussed shared priorities around innovative financing, skills
financing, private sector engagement, and partnership-led approaches to delivering
measurable social impact. The conversations also enabled an exchange of
learnings from international experience, including the United Kingdom’s Better
Futures Fund, and explored opportunities for continued collaboration in support
of skills and employment outcomes.
India’s participation at the OFA
Summit highlighted the country’s growing leadership in building large-scale,
inclusive skilling ecosystems and outcome-oriented development frameworks,
aligned with its vision of empowering youth and strengthening global
partnerships for human capital development.