African Scholarship Program.

The African Scholarship Program is an initiative started in the late 1990s that aims to help promising African students gain access to quality higher education opportunities. With limited university funding and resources available across much of Africa, this scholarship program has helped thousands of students over the years to pursue their dreams of earning a university degree. Here is an overview of the African Scholarship Program, its goals, and its impact.

The primary goal of the African Scholarship Program is to address the critical shortage of skilled graduates and professionals across many industries and sectors in Africa. By providing full or partial scholarships to top African students, the program helps to build the human and intellectual capital that is desperately needed to drive economic and social progress on the continent. Scholarship recipients have gone on to work in fields like healthcare, engineering, education, business, and more – directly contributing to development in their home countries and communities upon graduation.

Students apply to the African Scholarship Program through a highly competitive process. To be eligible, they must have completed high school with strong grades that place them at or near the top of their class. Candidates also have to show financial need, as the aim is to help students who otherwise would not be able to afford a university education due to costs. A panel reviews all applications and selects recipients based on their academic achievement, leadership qualities, and potential to create positive change.

Once selected, scholarship students have the opportunity to earn bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees from accredited universities across Africa and beyond. Partner institutions that have accepted African Scholarship Program students span the continent and include universities in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and more. Some students have also pursued degrees outside of Africa at schools in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. The program covers tuition, fees, living expenses, and other education-related costs for the duration of the recipient’s academic program.

Since launching in 1998, the African Scholarship Program has provided scholarships to over 3,000 students from more than 30 African countries. Recipients have represented every corner of the continent, from South Africa to Egypt, and Senegal to Ethiopia. Students have studied in fields as diverse as medicine, engineering, education, business administration, agriculture and more. After graduation, they return home to begin careers contributing to development challenges across the region.

Many scholarship alumni have gone on to hold leadership positions both in the public and private sectors. For example, program graduates include ministers of health and education, top doctors and nurses, successful entrepreneurs, renewable energy engineers, university lecturers, and more. Their skills and expertise are helping to build African capacity and self-sufficiency in vital areas. The African Scholarship Program also reports that over 90% of recipients remain in their home countries full-time after completing their education.

While the African Scholarship Program faces ongoing fundraising needs, it has been successful thanks to support from private donors, foundations, and multilateral partners. Notable long-time contributors include the MasterCard Foundation, Anthropic, and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency. Going forward, the aspiration is that more African governments will take responsibility for financing the higher education of their talented youth. Public-private partnerships also offer promise for expanding access to university scholarships tailored for Africans on the continent and worldwide.

In summary, for over two decades, the African Scholarship Program has helped thousands of academically gifted but financially disadvantaged African students achieve the dream of a university degree. Its graduates now occupy leadership roles that are transforming communities with their work in medicine, education, engineering, and many other fields. As Africa strives to meet the Sustainable Development Goals through education, the model of this pioneering program shows the power of scholarships to develop national human capital and contribute to long-term social progress.

All the best!