the business of education in africa

8/13/2019 The Business of Education in Africa

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4ood education is one of the basic human rights that governments around the

world owe to their citiens) 8owever due to the rapid rise in Africa9s population and

the overwhelming demand for good +uality education African governments are

finding it very difficult to provide this basic service)

Across the continent government:sponsored schools and training institutions face

the same difficulties : poor funding low +uality rapidly falling standards and

general system failure) 3ue to the poor reputation of public schools more parents

0including the poor1 are enrolling their children in paid private schools even in

countries where government schools offer free education) #)hoto credit nabc.nl%

Africa has one of the fastest growing populations in the world with an annual

population growth rate of nearly & per cent over the last "% years) 2ore than ;%

percent of the continent9s population is below "6 years old and the continent9s birth

rates remain one of the highest in the world) s

income covering not only tuition but also indirect fees0 such as membership of

parent:teacher associations community contributions textbooks and uniforms1)


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0source' ,-1) 2illions of poor African families are betting to climb out of poverty

using education as a ladder)

=n pursuit of the promises of a

brighter future for themselves and their kids more Africans are making enormous

sacrifices to get the best education) 8owever due to the poor reputation of public

schools more parents are enrolling their children in paid private schools even

where government schools offer free education) #)hoto credit &ridge 'nternational

Academies* (enya%

?ow:cost private schools like the @mega chain of chools in 4hanaand


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Apart from basic primary and secondary education many Africans are investing in

higher education to improve their chances of getting good paying Bobs) 3ue to high

unemployment rates the competition for good Bob opportunities is getting tougher

every year) To stand a better chance of getting these Bobs more Africans areseeking for university professional and vocational education and training)

3ue to poor +uality education there is a huge 0and growing1 gap between the skills

and knowledge of Africa9s labour force and what is re+uired by Bob employers) To

bridge this gap millions of high school and university graduates are enrolling in

private learning organisations to ac+uire additional knowledge and skills that will

make them relevant to a target Bob opportunity)

Apart from the unemployed Africans who already have Bobs are also enrolling and

investing in private training courses in order to advance their careers) These

training courses range from professional +ualifications 0accounting law =T

engineering etc1 to language programs and vocational training) We shall look at

these areas in detail in the next section)

#" - usinesses are desperate to train personnel for higher productivity

To improve productivity and efficiency in the workplace businesses are making

significant investments in staff training) When staff are more productive companies

are more likely to produce more 0and better1 goods and services) This often means

better financial performance and less waste) This demand for high +uality staff

training is coming from both private and government organisations)

While many large organisations have developed internal training programs to cater

for their staff a huge number of businesses are relying on private training providers

to support their staff) taff training often ranges from technical managerial to non:


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=n addition to formal primary and secondary school education there is a huge and

growing demand forprivate tutorsto supplement the training children get in

school) 2ore parents are paying extra fees to private tutors who provide addition

training after normal school hours) These extra lessons may take place at the

children9s home or at a dedicated location where children in the area come to

receive classes after school)

And parents are seeing remarkable results from these lessons) @n average primary

and secondary school students who receive extra classes 0private tutorship1

perform better at school and general examinations than students who only attend

school)

. !niversity Education

=f the condition of primary and

secondary education in Africa is bad university education is much worse) Apartfrom being poorly:run the number of universities in Africa cannot cope with the

huge 0and growing1 number of university:ready students every year) =n -igeria

alone only a quarterof the #)7 million candidates who wrote university entrance

exams in "%#& will gain admission 0source' 3ailyTimes1) The remainder 0if they9re

rich enough1 will try to enroll in one of the few and very expensive private
http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/jamb-over-1-million-students-will-not-get-admissionhttp://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/jamb-over-1-million-students-will-not-get-admission


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universities in the country) The -igerian story is +uite similar across many African

countries)

Although setting up a private university is much more capital intensive the huge

demand for university education in Africa Bustifies any business investment in the

sector) African students spend upwards of ,.& billion every year to pursue

graduate and post:graduate university education outside the continent 0especially

in Europe and ,A1)

The increasing likelihood of employers to choose foreign:trained graduates over

local ones is putting more pressure on the demand for high:+uality and international

standard university education in Africa) 2ore parents and students are likely to

prefer this option as it will be much cheaper and closer to home)

ome smart entrepreneurs are already partnering with foreign:based universities to

set up satellite campuses in Africa) ome others are using distance:learning 0and

online1 courses to break into Africa9s lucrative university education market) #)hoto

credit umcconnections.org%

". #ocationa$ training


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Aside from formal school education

there is a severe shortage of vocational skills in Africa) 3ue to the absence of good

vocational training there are not enough carpenters painters plumbers auto:

mechanics nurses boat builders tailors machine operators TD repairmen and

craftsmen 0like shoemakers furniture makers etc)1) To support its fast economic

growth Africa will need a skillful and productive labour force 0employed and self:

employed1 to produce the goods and services that will drive rapid economic growth

and development over the next decade)

This shortage of skills has led to a huge influx of foreign workers from Europe Asia

and the 2iddle East into Africa) These foreign artisans and technicians 0who are

usually more skillful and experienced1 are often paid higher than African workers)

There is now a huge demand from a large pool of unemployed Africans who have no

university education but want to develop basic vocational skills that will help them

become self:employed or earn higher pay at Bobs)

Docational training often involves a lot of practical work and as a result may

re+uire a significant investment in a workshop e+uipped with tools e+uipment

materials and machines)


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companies to train candidates interested in getting these professional certifications)

3epending on the profession the fees charged for these training courses can be

+uite high)

=n addition to providing private training to candidates interested in professional

certification private companies can also act as testexamination centres for

international bodies) or a portion of the fee paid to sit for the exam private

companies get to supervise candidates and ensure that the testsexams are

properly taken)

(. Persona$ deve$opment training

2ore individuals governments and businesses are investing in non:technical and

Csoft9 skills training) The most common courses covered in this type of training

include Entrepreneurship ?eadership Team


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3espite its language barriers a lot of African companies are spreading across the

continent thereby creating a need for both the employed and unemployed to be

multilingual if they want to have a better advantage at Bobs)


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While we admit that the opportunities for entrepreneurs to make money in Africa9s

education and training market are huge it9s important that you look out for

locations with a high enough population 0demand1 and little competition) What kind

of people 0young retired families etc1 live in your areaG Will they be interested inthe kind of training you want to offerG

?et9s say you intend to start a professional certification and training business) =s

there a large population of working class and employment:ready people who will be

willing to enroll in your school or training facilityG Are there already other

businesses offering the same training courses in the areaG 8ow strong is the

competitionG What sie and niche of the market are they servingG =s there room foryour own business and others who may intend to come in laterG ?ook for a segment

of the demand that is not being served and focus on it!

artnership is key in this business3

The common challenge in every education and training business is the knowledge

and experience of the teacherstrainers) 5artnerships and alliances are the easiest

ways of getting around this challenge) 2any training companies in Africa are

partnering with foreign:based training providers 0such as universities1 who have the

expert knowledge and experience to provide +uality training)

or example *en 3onkoh of the @mega 5rimary chool chain in 4hanapartnered

with 5rofessor $ames Tooley a pioneer in the low:cost private school field and a

professor of education policy at -ewcastle ,niversity in the ,nited *ingdom) This

type of partnership helps to improve your profile in the market and makes present

and future customers to highly regard your services)

When you identify a niche in the education and training market you9d like to tackle

do a +uick research on any local and international institutes professional bodies or
http://www.smallstarter.com/get-inspired/68http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tooleyhttp://www.smallstarter.com/get-inspired/68http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tooley


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foreign training companies who have experience in providing a similar service)

5ropose to work with them as a partner or representative in your country or area)

2ost of these organisations see alliances and partnership as a +uick and easy way

to increase their influence and revenues in foreign markets with little investment)

%xplore innovative teaching models and platforms

The internet is changing the way traditional education and training is given) E:

learning 0electronic learning1 and onlinevirtual classrooms are some of the

innovative ways of teaching a wider audience no matter your location) The

traditional method of sitting in a classroom and having a teachertrainer talk to

students and participants will gradually be replaced by more convenient methods of

learning) Entrepreneurs should be aware of these trends and follow them very

closely)

,demy)comand ?earnable)comare some of the interesting online learning

platforms that should inspire you)

Putting it a$$ together

Education is a social business that

offers the opportunity to impact millions of young African lives and make money at

the same time! With its population expected to double in the next H% years Africa9s
https://www.udemy.com/https://learnable.com/https://www.udemy.com/https://learnable.com/


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the business of education in africa

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