Quest Alliance gets grant from ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos

Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has presented a grant to the Quest Alliance for innovation in education technology aimed at empowering youth.

The Quest Alliance, a not-for-profit entity working on skills and empowerment of young learners, has not disclosed the amount of the large, unrestricted grant from the philanthropist.

Quest Alliance said in a statement on Saturday that at least 13 Indian organizations working in various development fields from health, education, rural communities and affordable healthcare have so far received Scott Initiative Global Grants worth US$2.7 billion in charities.

Quest Alliance operates in multiple states in India supporting the TVET ecosystem in 15 states and in 11 states supporting the school education ecosystem.

Recently, the Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) launched a digital version of the employability skills curriculum under the Right Future Skills Network (FRSN) initiative, a collaborative effort by Quest Alliance, Accenture, Cisco and JP Morgan for students enrolled in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across India.

Akash Sethi, CEO of Quest Alliance, said Mackenzie Scott’s philanthropy was significant in the way it has shifted the conversation towards more flexible, trust-based funding that enables organizations to solve their most complex development problems with a long-term vision.

With this scholarship, Quest Alliance will continue its mission to transform the learning experience for young people, equipping them with the skills they need to succeed and thrive in the 21st century workforce.