The Mastercard Foundation has inaugurated the Africa Higher Education for Transformation (AHEFT) Prize, backed by a 500 million U.S. dollar, to strengthen higher education institutions across Africa and expand opportunities for young people.
The foundation disclosed this in a statement made available on Tuesday in Abuja.
It said that the AHEFT Prize, which would run for the next decade, is the first annual award of its kind dedicated to recognising African higher education institutions.
The institutions affected are those driving sustained, institution-wide transformation while improving education, research, innovation and employment outcomes.
The foundation identified the inaugural recipients of the prize to include Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia; the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE), Burkina Faso; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana; Muni University, Uganda; and the University of Rwanda.
It said each institution would receive three million U.S. dollars to scale initiatives aimed at expanding access to quality education and improving opportunities for young Africans.
It added that the prize would recognise institutions making transformational impact in areas such as teaching and learning, research and innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Others are transitions to employment, climate and environment, agriculture and agri-food systems, health, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, digital technology and artificial intelligence.
According to the foundation, at least 150 higher education institutions across Africa are expected to benefit from the initiative over the next decade.
Commenting on the initiative, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mastercard Foundation, Ms. Sewit Ahderom, said the prize was designed to strengthen African universities as drivers of innovation and economic opportunity.
“For 20 years, we have seen African institutions rethink what higher education can deliver.
“The AHEFT Prize turns that proof into momentum.
“We are backing homegrown excellence with a decade-long commitment so that universities across the continent become engines of opportunity for millions of young people,” she said.
Also speaking, the Executive Director, Higher Education Initiatives at the Mastercard Foundation, Dr. John Nkengasong, said African universities should be repositioned as catalysts for human capital development and economic transformation.
Nkengasong said higher education institutions must go beyond teaching to become direct pathways to employment, entrepreneurship and inclusive growth for young people across the continent.
He noted that the inaugural laureates would be formally honoured at the Higher Education Transformation Convening scheduled for Sept. 22 in Accra, Ghana.
He said that the foundation awards would form part of its Young Africa Works strategy, which aims to enable 30 million young people, particularly women, access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.
