
Greetings from Ashesi University
We are excited to welcome colleagues and partners across Africa to our campus as we explore new ways to strengthen higher education in Africa. As the continent with the fastest-growing young population, higher education institutions in Africa have the responsibility to help unlock this human capital for the good of the world. We believe that no single institution can make a systemic impact by itself. As a result, Ashesi University has been actively engaged with many institutions, stakeholders and partners to combine our collective resources towards enabling Africa's most significant stakeholders – its young people – to play an active role in their continent's growth.
In 2017 – driven by this outreach – we brought together an initial group of 15 African universities to form The Education Collaborative. The collaborative focuses on sharing expertise, learning and resources among its members. To date, we have hosted participants from more than 100 universities at Education Collaborative meetings and programmes. The network has implemented teaching and learning reforms that have led to stronger outcomes for 150,000 students.
In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, we are growing this work further. Ashesi and the Education Collaborative network, Botho, Maverick and MyCOS have worked with THE to design a new university ranking for Sub-Saharan Africa – one that will help us establish critical performance metrics for moving our continent forward. The first edition of this ranking was designed by asking hundreds of Africans across a broad range of stakeholder groups – from Ghana to Kenya to Zimbabwe – three questions: What are the greatest challenges confronting Africa? What should universities be doing about them? What stops them from doing so?
We look forward to seeing how this initiative unfolds, and what it may mean for the future of African higher education. The THE Sub-Saharan Africa Universities Forum is an excellent platform for us to think through this future together. By teaching our students the skills, courage and empathy they will need to solve Africa's most pressing problems, we can help the continent unlock an incredible new set of opportunities for social and economic well-being.
On behalf of the Ashesi community and our partners at THE, I look forward to welcoming you. We hope many of you leave this meeting feeling inspired and energised about what lies ahead.
Patrick Awuah
Founder and president
Ashesi University

About Ashesi University
Ashesi University is a private, non-profit, multidisciplinary university in Ghana. Its mission is to educate a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within students the critical thinking skills, the concern for others and the courage it will take to transform their continent. Our vision is an African renaissance driven by a new generation of ethical, entrepreneurial leaders.
Founded in 2002, Ashesi offers programmes grounded in a liberal arts core curriculum and has graduate and undergraduate majors in computer science, business administration, management information systems, and engineering. With an academic programme designed to teach critical thinking, innovation, problem-solving and working with partners across Africa and the world, Ashesi has pioneered an educational experience like no other in Africa.
The university provides comprehensive social, academic and financial support to ensure the success of first-generation students and refugees, with half of its students receiving need-based scholarships. Additionally, 40 per cent of the university's engineering students are women, and half of its total student population and leadership team are women.
Ashesi's growth into an exemplary university over the past two decades has impacted higher education across Africa in multiple ways. From a pioneer class of 30, Ashesi now has some 3,500 students and alumni working for the progress of their continent. The university hosts Ghana's Climate Innovation Centre, which helps entrepreneurs scale and incorporate climate resilience and adaption solutions. It is also a member of the Mastercard Foundation's University Health Alliance, a network of institutions educating talented individuals and introducing innovations into Africa's health sector.