How Can Business Schools Transform Africa?

Africa today stands at a historic inflection point. With over 60% of its population under the age of 25, it is the youngest continent in the world, a demographic force that, if nurtured and empowered, could fuel economic transformation for generations. Yet, this promise is tempered by persistent and interlinked challenges. The widening digital divide and the increased vulnerability to climate change are new challenges that add to the historical ones of deep-rooted gender and economic inequality and restricted intra-African mobility. These are continental-scale problems that demand continental-scale solutions and collaboration.

Business schools occupy a unique and underutilized space in addressing these challenges, not only through education but through the production of relevant knowledge and engagement with policymakers, industry leaders, and peer academic institutions. But to be effective, business schools must work together, across borders and boundaries. Today, the cooperation among African business schools in areas such as faculty exchange, student mobility, and joint research remains fragmented and sporadic. This is a missed opportunity that schools cannot afford to ignore if they are to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s future transformation.

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

First, digital divide is one of the most critical barriers to inclusive growth in Africa. While global digital access has surged, over 60% of Africans still lack regular access to the internet. The very generation that could lead Africa into the knowledge economy is being left behind. Compounding this is the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence. In Africa, where many economies rely on routine and low-skilled labor, automation is expected to reshape or displace up to 40% of jobs in key sectors such as manufacturing, retail, transportation, and public services. Without deliberate intervention, AI risks widening existing inequalities and excluding millions from the future of work.

Business schools must act as first responders to this challenge. They must lead the creation of cross-institutional digital infrastructure, collaborative AI and data science curricula, and pan-African e-learning platforms. They must equip students with digital and analytical skills to not only survive automation; but shape it. A promising example is the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), which partners with universities across the continent to train students in data science and AI, often supported by pan-African industry networks.

CLIMATE RESILIENCE & SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION

Second, the climate crisis is already reshaping the physical and economic landscape of the continent. Scientific evidence shows that Africa is warming faster than the global average, with climate shocks causing disruptions to agriculture, urban infrastructure, and public health systems. Despite accounting for less than 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, African economies are among the most exposed and least prepared.

Business schools must become catalysts for climate resilience through research on sustainable business models, training for green entrepreneurship, and participation in policy networks. Initiatives like the Business Schools for Climate Leadership Africa consortium are a promising step, but broader participation and shared commitment are needed to mainstream climate change into business education.

Moreover, climate adaptation demands interdisciplinary and anticipatory thinking skills that blend environmental awareness with business acumen and ethical reasoning. Cross-sectoral collaboration with engineering, public health, and environmental science institutions can enrich these efforts and help future business leaders see opportunities in sustainability, not just risks.

See ESCA Morocco President Thami Gorfi’s interview in P&Q: ‘Africa is the last frontier’

INCLUSIVE GROWTH & GENDER EQUITY

Third, any conversation about economic equality must confront the persistent gender gap. According to the Africa Gender Index, women score just 50.3% in overall equality metrics, with particularly stark gaps in economic participation and political representation. It is clear that gender inequality isn’t just unjust, it’s inefficient.

Business schools can and must serve as engines of gender-inclusive growth by supporting female students and entrepreneurs, ensuring equitable leadership representation, and generating evidence on policies that close the gender gap in business and finance. 

Creating a future-ready workforce also means challenging gendered assumptions about leadership, entrepreneurship, and innovation. Business schools should nurture inclusive leadership skills that value empathy, collaboration, and equity; traits essential for managing the diverse and interconnected world of tomorrow.

UNLOCKING INTRA-AFRICAN MOBILITY

Fourth, it is essential to confront the reality that intra-African academic mobility is deeply constrained. Despite the African Union’s vision for free movement, most African countries maintain restrictive visa regimes. According to the Africa Visa Openness Index, only a handful of African states offer visa-free access to citizens from most other countries on the continent. This limits not only student and faculty exchange, but also the intellectual circulation required to build a pan-African academic community.

Faculty collaboration remains underdeveloped. Structured exchange programs, co-supervision of doctoral research, and continent-wide research clusters are still the exception rather than the rule. As institutions tasked with generating ideas and talent to solve Africa’s biggest challenges, business schools must invest in mechanisms that build shared intellectual capacity.

If we want to foster truly African solutions, we must pressure policymakers to remove mobility barriers and invest in multi-campus academic programs that transcend national borders. Institutions like the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) provide a framework for building such networks, but more business schools need to actively join and contribute.

Enhanced mobility will allow for the cross-pollination of ideas, accelerate innovation, and promote a continental mindset among future leaders; one that is regional in understanding, but global in scope.

A CULTURE OF COLLABORATION & INNOVATION

Engagement with the private sector and government is also vital. Business schools should not only teach future leaders but co-create applied research tackling the continental challenges. 

As we look ahead, the skills that will shape Africa’s economic destiny are not just technical; they are adaptive, interdisciplinary, ethically grounded, and entrepreneurial. Business schools must teach their students how to learn, unlearn, and relearn; how to work across cultures and sectors; how to think not only about profits, but about systems and sustainability.

Of course, implementation will not be easy. Deepening cross-border academic collaboration requires significant investment, political will, and the overhaul of bureaucratic and regulatory systems that have long been inward-looking. Yet, these hurdles are not insurmountable if institutions align their incentives and demonstrate leadership through example.

The future of Africa hinges not just on the ideas and innovations of its business schools, but on how well its institutions of business education work together to amplify those ideas. It is only through continental cooperation and a new kind of leadership: adaptive, inclusive, and forward-thinking, that African business schools can fulfill their promise as architects of a more just, sustainable, and prosperous future.

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Samer Atallah has been an associate professor of economics at the Onsi Sawiris School of Business at The American University in Cairo since 2011. He has been a visiting scholar at the Center for Democracy, Development and Rule of Law at Stanford University and a visiting scholar at the University of Chicago Center in Paris.