Thunderbird School of Global Management (Thunderbird) at Arizona State University (ASU) has plans to educate 100 million learners by 2030, thanks to a historic $25 million donation.
Phoenix philanthropists Francis and Dionne Najafi are funding an online, global education from world-class accredited institutions in 40 different languages to learners across the globe, as part of the Francis and Dionne Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative.
This ambitious program will be provided at no cost to the learner, with women and girls accounting for 70 percent of enrollment worldwide.
The 100 Million Learners Global Initiative has three pathways for learners depending on their education levels. The foundational courses are for learners of any level; the intermediate courses are for advanced high school learners to current undergraduate learners; the advanced courses are for advanced undergraduate learners and above, but any learner can take any of the above courses.
Francis Najafi came to America from Iran to get an education and earned four degrees from three universities. In 1982, he founded Pivotal Group, a real estate opportunity fund. Later he broadened Pivotal Group’s mandate, successfully investing in private equity and growth venture opportunities.
“There is a large body of people around the world who have no access to education,” Najafi said. “My wife and I think of education as part of your basic human rights. ... As an immigrant some five decades ago, I learned the value of education. I learned my basic management skills and leadership here at Thunderbird, where I also learned that you can work through your cultural and social differences. That is so unique to Thunderbird.”
Thunderbird has touched more than 2 million learners in its 75-year history, said Thunderbird Director General and Dean Sanjeev Khagram. “As a refugee of Idi Amin’s Uganda, my life was transformed by having access to world-class education, so this is deeply personal for me. The 100 Million Learners Global Initiative is educational inclusion, innovation and impact at a worldwide scale,” Khagram said.
Since 2004, more than 200,000 people across more than 100 countries have graduated from Thunderbird's entrepreneurship programs. They are creating jobs, sharing knowledge, and improving living conditions in their communities. The latest in this long line of programs – and another example of the power of educational institutions to nurture entrepreneurial innovation – is the A. Masrin Center for Global Entrepreneurship and Family Business. Housed at Thunderbird's global headquarters, the center is named after the entrepreneurial father of distinguished Thunderbird alumnus Jimmy Masrin '87, who is President, Director, and CEO of PT Caturkarsa Megatunggal based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
In 2021, Thunderbird was selected by the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) to launch Global Entrepreneurship Week at Thunderbird's new state-of-the-art global headquarters in downtown Phoenix, Ariz. This partnership aligns with GEN's mission of making it easier for anyone, anywhere, to start and scale a business, as the courses offered by the 100 Million Learners Global Initiative strongly emphasize leadership and entrepreneurship skills.
"Thunderbird shares the Global Entrepreneurship Network's passion for equipping individuals and communities around the world with the skill sets and mindset to advance sustainable and inclusive prosperity through entrepreneurship," Khagram said. "We are honored with the privilege of launching such a transformative event at our new global headquarters in downtown Phoenix, itself a model for the power of educational institutions and cities as entrepreneurial hubs."