Higher education in Africa is a crucial catalyst for the continent’s development and economic growth. By embracing and supporting private institutions, Africa could expand access to quality education, bridge critical skills gaps, and better position its youth to compete in the global job market and solve pressing unmet needs at home.

In the middle of the previous century, most African countries inherited post-colonial education systems. Some worked better than others, allowing decent growth in literacy rates and offering a fit-for-purpose higher education that trained ruling elites in those countries. Not only did these systems work decently well, they were also free of charge. These inclusive and egalitarian systems brought the promise of equal opportunities and the hope of a better future through a free and accessible social ladder.

Sadly, however, those education systems no longer seem to work. They have been contending with formidable capacity and quality issues, having been overwhelmed by rapid population growth in the under-25 age bracket, which represents around 50% of Africa’s population. As a result, Africa hasn’t been training qualified faculty fast enough to keep pace and has been slow to embrace technology and keep up with rapidly evolving knowledge in some fields. Adding to the challenge, existing public higher education systems are increasingly out of tune with the job market in the age of a global digital economy.

The current state of the African education system today is an unenviable one. The continent’s average literacy rate is 68%, reaching as low as 27% in some countries, compared to a global literacy rate of 87%. The higher education gross enrolment rate (defined as the percentage of people attending a higher education degree out of the university-age population) stands at less than 10% in Africa, versus a global average of 43%.

It gets worse when we look closer at the relevance of the disciplines being taught. According to a British International Investment report, over 70% of university seats in Africa’s public sector are offered in humanities (law, literature, history, etc.), whereas around 80% of job market requirements are in technical disciplines such as engineering, health sciences, architecture, business and finance, and digital marketing. This mismatch is perhaps one of the leading causes of endemic unemployment among African youth, reaching as high as 50% in some economies.

The particular case of medical and allied sciences is an eye-opening one. Today, with only 16% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for 80% of the global disease burden of viral, bacterial and parasitic infections. By contrast, Africa accounts for only 5% of global trained medical personnel. According to the Human Resources for Health report, to bridge the gap Africa would need to train 6.1 million doctors, nurses, and midwives by 2030. However, public medical schools currently have the capacity to train only 3.1 million health workers. Not only that, but countries like South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia are grappling with medical staff exodus towards continental Europe and the UK.

Private education has been touted for a long time as a credible alternative. Private higher education penetration across Africa was estimated at around 24% in 2024, up from roughly 17% in 2010, and is expected to reach 30% by 2040. Unlike its public counterpart, private higher education is extremely focused on job market needs and defines success by post-graduation employment outcomes. Some institutions go as far as showing future students what kind of pay-back they should expect by enrolling in a certain degree.

Private higher education is not only helping address Africa’s education and job market needs, but is also contributing to ageing European labour markets in certain technical and scientific disciplines.

While concerns around equal opportunity caused by private higher education are real, they are not insurmountable and can be alleviated through a mix of hybrid state funding, scholarships and innovative student-financing fintech solutions. What is certain, however, is that without private sector investment in education, Africa will not be able to bridge the higher education gap required to tackle its most pressing developmental needs.