HigherEd Challenges & Opportunities in Africa

Education is an essential issue conditioning Africa’s growth and political stability. I will be dedicating the two next podcasts to understanding Africa’s education challenges and perspectives.

First Stop is Tunis. I met with Kais Mabrouk, International Development Executive Director of Groupe Université Centrale, a leading Tunisian private university owned by Honoris United Universities. Another PanAfrican private university holding that is rapidly expanding across Africa with a presence in 9 countries, mainly in Tunisia, Morocco, South Africa and Mauritius.

In this episode, Mabrouk examines the state of higher education in Africa and how it can contribute to African economic integration.

The consequences are transformative. The numbers say HigherEd privatization is inevitable. The market is already highly coveted by large and foreign groups. Honoris United Universities is one of them. The group has been acquiring schools and universities in strategic countries to position itself as the first PanAfrican University in the continent.

As it is expanding throughout the continent, the group is also turning its strategic acquisitions into educational regional hubs attractive to students from neighboring countries.

Beyond the imperative of profitability, private HigherEd groups are playing the card of human development. Stated objective is to fullfill Africa’s growth potential through teaching skills adapted to market needs and that respond to the urgency of producing higher added value exports.

Honoris United Universities also claims that its PanAfrican vision is actually helping create synergies as students exchanges create bonds with lasting impacts on economic integration.

These new connections have turned the African dream into a reality. Mabrouk says that further efforts should be made by leaders to shape the African dream and accelerate African economic integration.