Muni University wins $3m Mastercard Foundation prize for higher education transformation

Uganda’s Muni University has been named among five African institutions to win the inaugural Africa Higher Education for Transformation (AHEFT) Prize, earning $3 million to expand initiatives aimed at transforming higher education.

The Mastercard Foundation announced the winners during its inaugural Higher Education Transformation Convening in Accra, Ghana, this week.

Muni University joins Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering in Burkina Faso, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, and the University of Rwanda as the first recipients of the award.

Each institution will receive $3 million to scale initiatives designed to expand education opportunities for young Africans.

The AHEFT Prize is backed by a $500 million commitment from the Mastercard Foundation and is expected to recognise at least 150 higher education institutions across Africa over the next decade.

The award focuses on institutions undertaking sustained changes in teaching and learning, research and innovation, students’ transition into employment and health outcomes.

The announcement came during a gathering of university leaders, the African Union, governments, financial institutions, businesses and young people. The meeting ran under the theme, “Reimagining Higher Education for Africa’s Human Capital Development.”

Mastercard Foundation president and chief executive officer Sewit Ahderom said universities should move beyond providing qualifications and become drivers of economic opportunities for young people.

“Transformation is not just a better university. It is a university that makes the whole economy around it work better for young people,” Ahderom said.

She called for courses designed alongside employers, qualifications that demonstrate graduates’ practical abilities and institutions that prepare young Africans to lead technological change.

Ahderom also urged universities to ensure that research moves beyond campuses and contributes to businesses, government programmes, communities and job creation.

The Foundation’s executive director for Higher Education and Strategic Initiatives, Dr John Nkengasong, said Africa’s growing young population presents an economic opportunity that universities can help unlock.

“Africa’s young and growing population presents one of the world’s greatest opportunities. Realizing that opportunity will depend on higher education institutions that can develop and retain talent, drive innovation, and create stronger pathways to dignified and fulfilling work,” Nkengasong said.

He argued that transforming universities should be treated as an economic priority requiring cooperation between governments, universities, investors and the private sector.

African Union Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation director Prof Saidou Madougou also called for increased investment in higher education and research. He said higher education spending across the continent averages less than 0.8 per cent of GDP, while research and development receives less than 0.5 per cent of national budgets.

The discussions support the African Union’s Decade of Education and Skills Development, which runs from 2025 to 2034 and seeks to strengthen education and align skills development with the continent’s long-term economic priorities.

AHEFT jury chair Susan Chomba said the five inaugural winners demonstrated different approaches to reforming higher education that could provide lessons for other institutions.

“Across the applications, we saw a strong appetite for change and institutions rethinking everything from how students learn and prepare for the world of work, to how universities engage with industry, strengthen research and innovation, and respond to local challenges,” Chomba said.

Applications for the 2027 AHEFT Prize are expected to open later this year.