Donor and financing institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and others, often promote market-based solutions for the implementation of public services in developing countries. This research examines a World Bank-funded Women's Literacy Project (WLP) in Senegal as a case study. It is one of the first projects that involved local for-profit and non-profit organizations to implement services. Several recent studies have argued favorably for a strong international support to set up local educational policies and economic frameworks (e.g., Resnik 2006). The WLP case study offers a glimpse into the realization of a World Bank tentative to develop literacy education in Senegal through the use of private markets.