Since the Innovation for African Universities (IAU) programme launched in 2021, it has supported 35 cross-sector partnerships, reaching over 7000 direct participants, fostering the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation across Higher Education Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The problem
Youth are Africa’s greatest asset. Africa’s youth population is rapidly growing and expected to double to over 830 million by 2050. If properly harnessed, this increase in the working age population could support increased productivity and stronger, more inclusive economic growth across the continent. However, today, the majority of youth in Africa do not have stable economic opportunities. Of Africa’s nearly 420 million youth aged 15-35, one-third are unemployed and discouraged, another third is vulnerably employed, and only one in six is in wage employment.
In addition to high levels of unemployment and underemployment, Africa’s youth are confronted with multiple challenges ranging from mixed growth economies lacking job creation capability for its rapidly growing populations, to the global financial and economic crisis. Africa is the only region where the youth bulge will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. This presents both an opportunity to reap the demographic dividend and an imminent time bomb threatening social cohesion in the absence of appropriate policies to harness this dividend coupled with massive migration in search of opportunities.
Our response
In response to this need, the British Council developed and designed the IAU initiative to foster the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within Higher Education Institutions and facilitate the development of skills required to build industries, companies and products.
Overview
IAU was designed to address youth unemployment and underemployment across Sub-Saharan Africa. The programme supports the development of SSA-UK university partnerships that build institutional capacity for university engagement in entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems. By developing mutually beneficial partnerships, the programme has contributed to strengthening capacity and capabilities for entrepreneurship and innovation within participating Higher Education institutions and countries. The desired impact from the partnerships is strengthened entrepreneurship ecosystems, improved student employability outcomes and improved support for young people seeking to develop sustainable enterprises.
The objectives of the IAU include:
- Contributing to improving the relevance and responsiveness of universities to their social and economic contexts
- Supporting universities to become enabling environments for innovative, skilled, and adaptive students and graduates
- Advancing the entrepreneurial university agenda for improved youth employability and job creation
The Centre of Excellence
In the first phase of the programme (2021-2023), a Center of Excellence (CoE) for the Innovation for African Universities (IAU) programme, represented by City University of London, University of Nairobi and the Change School was assigned to lead the development of the network. Through the IAU platform, the CoE built an international community, supporting the development of partnerships, promoting the exchange of knowledge and building institutional capabilities.
The Community of Practice
The Innovation for African Universities (IAU) Community of Practice (CoP) was launched in November 2023 to foster collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and innovation among higher education institutions across Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, and the UK. The CoP is now led by IAU network partners themselves with the aim of delivering outcomes that enhance innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education institutions across Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana with ripple effect to other countries across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Programme Success
Since 2021, IAU has:
- Awarded grant funding to 35 partnership projects
- Created an international network comprising over 389 partners
- Supported 87 Higher Education Institutions and Ecosystem/Industry Partners
- Enabled the development and revision of over 28 curricula
- Created 25 digital and physical training and enterprise support platforms
- Enabled the formation of over 21 industry: academia partnerships
- Supported138 student businesses
If you would like more information about how you can partner with us to scale and replicate IAU in other African countries, please contact the British Council SSA Higher Education team: ssahighereducation@britishcouncil.org.