Indian-origin entrepreneur Sunny Varkey launches new global education fund

DUBAI: An Indian-origin entrepreneur in the UAE today launched a new $200,000 fund to support education projects around the world by providing good teachers and quality education to every child including refugees.

Kerala-born Sunny Varkey, 59, a Dubai-based education philanthropist, launched the Varkey Foundation Challenge Fund here at the two-day Global Education and Skills Forum 2016.

The first allocations of the fund will go for projects in the Middle East, China, Ghana and Ukraine, Varkey said.

"The Challenge Fund looks to support early-stage initiatives which build the capacity of teachers and to strengthen the status of the teaching profession. As with the Global Teacher Prize, it is part of the Varkey Foundation's vision of providing every child with a good teacher and a quality education," Varkey said.