African countries have been urged to increase private sector funding for higher education

Nairobi, Kenya – Experts participating in the African Development Bank dialogue in Kenya have called on African nations to step up efforts to attract private sector financing to improve higher education and equip the continent’s youth with competitive skills.

During a panel discussion at the Bank’s 2024 annual meetings in Nairobi, experts highlighted the importance of political commitment in ensuring the return on private sector investment in education.

Former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, chair of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), advocated for national policies that build a strong foundation in primary and secondary education. “A strong educational foundation also provides a talent pool of trained young people who can learn throughout their lives to develop,” Kikwete stressed.

The bank organized the event in cooperation with the Government of Kenya, the African Union Commission and the German development agency KfW. The session titled “Policy Dialogue on Innovative Financing of Higher Education in Africa: Reviving the Role of the Private Sector” discussed strategies and best practices to stimulate private sector financing of higher education.

Kikwete called for a renewed commitment to increasing national education spending to tap Africa’s demographic potential as the world’s future largest labor force. He praised the efforts of some African countries to increase education budgets, but noted that recent global financial challenges require innovative resource mobilization for education.

He said there is also a need for a strong and diverse partnership that puts young students at the center of the continent’s development agenda.

Kikwete highlighted the joint initiatives of GPE and the African Development Bank to mobilize investments to support education in Africa, adding that the meeting in Nairobi provided both bodies with further opportunities to develop their partnership and ensure sustainable financing of education systems in Africa.

“Today is just the beginning; “We must always work together to explore opportunities to ensure adequate funding for the entire education system – from primary to higher education – so that our young people have the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.”

The African Development Bank has been actively engaged in education and skills development since 1975, committing significant resources to strengthening science, technology, engineering and mathematics infrastructure at higher education levels and improving the sectoral policy environment.

Beth Dunford, the bank’s vice president for agriculture, community and community development, said the institution has committed $964 million to higher education and skills development over the past decade.

“The focus is on strengthening technical and vocational education and training infrastructure and catalysing private sector investment in skills development and job creation,” Dunford stressed.

She highlighted the Bank’s $80 million support for the Ekiti State Special Economic Zone project in Nigeria and its $23 million investment in Rwanda’s proposed Aviation Skills Center of Excellence as some of the projects that will help boost the economy and create jobs.

Prof. Mohamed Belhocine, African Union Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, said increased investment in higher education requires action at national, continental and global levels. He noted that between 2017 and 2019, only seven African countries achieved the required 7%. GDP expenditure on education, with an average of approximately 4%. GDP.

Dr James Mwangi, Group CEO of Equity Holdings, shared how collaboration with higher education institutions is driving human resource development across the continent. For example, he said, Equity, in partnership with the Kenyan government, has provided scholarships to at least 23,000 students.

During the event, the African Development Bank also signed a Letter of Intent with the German International Corporation (GIZ) to increase joint commitments to skills development in Africa.

More than 10,000 participants registered for the African Development Bank’s 2024 hybrid annual meetings, with approximately 5,000 delegates physically participating. Several heads of state are expected to participate in the presidential dialogue on Wednesday.

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