In October 2023, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) deemed a complaint from Learn Capital III as eligible and initiated an assessment. This assessment involved discussions between CAO, Learn Capital III, and Bridge International Academies to understand their perspectives on the issues raised and explore their interest in a CAO-facilitated dispute resolution process or a compliance appraisal. As mutual agreement on dispute resolution could not be reached, the complaint was directed to CAO’s Compliance function for appraisal of the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) role, consistent with CAO policy. The CAO Assessment Report provides further details.
Following this, in August 2024, CAO finalized its compliance appraisal concerning the Learn Capital complaint. The Compliance Appraisal Report indicated preliminary evidence of harm to the complainants. These indications specifically related to allegations of child sexual abuse at a Bridge International Academies school in Kenya. The appraisal also found initial indications of potential non-compliance by IFC with its environmental and social standards. This potential non-compliance pertains to the adequate identification and supervision of social risks, particularly those related to child sexual abuse. Furthermore, CAO established a plausible connection between the alleged harm and potential IFC non-compliance in this context.
Despite the Learn Capital complaint fulfilling the requirements for a compliance investigation, CAO determined that it is substantially linked to issues already under investigation in the Bridge-04 compliance process, which is currently in its monitoring phase. Therefore, in line with paragraph 93 of the CAO Policy, CAO has decided to merge the Learn Capital complaint into the existing Bridge-04 compliance process for efficiency and coherence. This consolidation ensures a comprehensive review of related concerns within a single framework.
