Actis, a leading investor in growth markets, has built the first pan-African private higher education network bringing together the leading tertiary education institutions in North and Southern Africa.
The network, which is called Honoris United Universities, is designed to harness the collaborative intelligence and the pioneering efforts of these institutions to educate Africa’s next generations of leaders and professionals. There are over 600 accredited universities in Africa.
Luis Lopez, newly appointed CEO of Honoris United Universities, expressed delight at introducing Honoris United Universities, which he said is a unique platform providing international quality education.
“It is rooted in the vision of the founders of the member institutions. Aware of the vital need for their communities to develop human capital, they have each worked for decades to build relevant and demanding academic models with the dual objectives of developing the employability and the life skills of their graduates,” Lopez said.
This initiative will help African universities take their proper place in resolving African challenges and in terms of development, science, technology, and all the economic output that should come from it.
Wellington Oyibo, professor of medical parasitology and director of the Research and Innovation Centre at the University of Lagos in said that when universities come together to share strengths the multiplier effects would be enormous, given that North and Southern Africa universities have different set of strengths.
“When these strengths are shared, and leveraged upon, development could easily be escalated across the sub-regions,” Oyibo told BusinessDay in a phone interview.
Actis began with “beacon” markets in Francophone Africa. In December 2014, it made an investment in Université Centrale Group, the leading post-secondary education group in Tunisia. In 2016, the platform expanded to Morocco, creating a Northern Africa Hub through its investment in Université Mundiapolis. Mundiapolis is renowned for its international approach and focus on employability.
Honoris United Universities will first settle in South Africa, an important Anglophone beacon market that will anchor the platform in Southern Africa. Subject to regulatory approvals, Honoris has entered into an investment agreement with Management College of Southern Africa, better known as “MANCOSA”, and the REGENT Business School. Together, MANCOSA and REGENT are South Africa’s leading private distance learning institutions, focused on providing accredited, accessible and affordable education.
These agreements in Morocco and South Africa mark the genesis of the pan-African education leadership position that Honoris United Universities seeks to cement. As a whole, Honoris United Universities will offer more than 100 degrees in fields including Health Sciences, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Arts and Design, Media, Education and Political Science. Delivery is focused on student success and accessibility and includes a blend of on-campus, learning centers and distance learning.
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
