The P&Q Interview: Africa’s Rabat Business School Looks To Seize The Moment Amid International Talent Shifts

As Western business schools grapple with demographic declines and shifting preferences for international students, they are increasingly turning their gaze toward Africa.

It is the youngest continent in the world, with more than 60% of its population under the age of 25, and home to multiple expanding emergent markets. Business schools are racing to stake a claim.

In November, the TRIUM Global Executive MBA – a partnership between NYU Stern, the London School of Economics (LSE), and HEC Paris – launched its first African module in Nairobi, Kenya, to teach emerging economies, sustainability, and renewable energy in a country that runs almost entirely on green power. University of Oxford Saïd Business School’s on-continent initiatives like the Oxford Africa Business Forum, the Doing Business in Africa program, and the Oxford Africa Alliance help to attract top African talent to its programs.

Now, as international students face increasingly unfriendly and uncertain policies in the U.S. and other countries, Rabat Business School (RBS) in Morocco, hopes to stake its own claim for in the global competition for talent.

“There is clearly a share of international students and faculty that we are trying to attract,” Nicolas Arnaud, Director General of RBS and dean of the College of Management, tells Poets&Quants.

“When I look at the quality of the school and the infrastructure of the country, there is no reason why Rabat Business School, and Morocco more broadly, should not capture a meaningful share of this global shift.”

Q&A WITH NICOLAS ARNAUD

The International University of Rabat was founded in 2010, Morocco’s first higher education institution founded through a public-private partnership. Over the past decade, its business school has moved deliberately from startup to an internationally ranked player.

It earned AACSB accreditation in 2020, EQUIS accreditation in 2025, and expects to finalize AMBA accreditation late this year or early next. That would make it the first Triple Crown business school in North Africa and only the fifth on the African continent. Last year, its Master in Management landed in the Top 20 in the Financial Times’ global ranking.

By the time Arnaud arrived in 2024, RBS faculty size had doubled, research output had surged, and international partnerships had expanded rapidly. He is now spearheading the school’s next phase through its strategic plan, “Rise, Build, and Shape.” The plan aims to grow the school to 4,500 students across three campuses — Rabat, Casablanca, and Marrakech — while sharpening its academic identity around interdisciplinarity, impact, and Africa-first leadership.

“I often tell my team that the previous strategic plan was essentially a startup strategy,” Arnaud says. “Now, the goal is to bring more maturity to the school.”

In the interview that follows, Arnaud discusses what it takes to build a globally ranked business school from Africa and what the school’s rise signals for the future of management education on the continent. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Let’s start with an introduction. Tell us a little bit about your academic background and how you came to Rabat Business School.

I hold a PhD in strategy and management, which I earned in France in 2007. I began my career at a French state university, and two years later I had the opportunity to join a private French business school in the northwest of France.

I spent 15 years at that institution, gradually taking on more managerial responsibilities. Before leaving in 2024, I was essentially serving as a vice dean, in charge of the entire program portfolio and student recruitment. During the last five or six years of my time there, the school grew from just under 5,000 students to around 8,000 students.

The school was triple-crown accredited, with AACSB, EQUIS, and AMBA accreditations, and was very engaged in student experience, rankings, and various international labels. At a certain point, I felt the need for a change, but a meaningful one. I didn’t want to move unless it was for an exciting project.

That’s when the opportunity arose to join Rabat Business School, which is part of the International University of Rabat in Morocco. I joined in September 2024 as dean of the business school.

What attracted you to Morocco and RBS, versus continuing an academic career in France, which has many excellent business schools?

I did have a couple of opportunities to become dean at French business schools, but they were mostly smaller institutions. Because I had been a senior figure at my previous school—which was a top 10 business school in France—I was very aware of how the French market was evolving. I knew that starting in 2025, the French business school market would face significant challenges due to demographic trends and the sheer number of schools operating.

I was also already familiar with Morocco and with Rabat Business School. Through my former school, I used to travel to Morocco once a year, and in 2018 I signed a memorandum of understanding with Rabat Business School. So I knew the project well. From France, I had been watching the school grow, rise, and really gain visibility.

When the former dean and the current president contacted me in February 2024, they initially wanted to know whether I would be interested in taking responsibility for the business school. I already knew the professional project was strong, and I knew enough about Rabat to feel confident that the quality of life could also be very good. Of course, since I’m married with three children, it was important that this move made sense as a family project as well. And that’s how we arrived where we are today.

What are some of the unique opportunities for Rabat right now, with Africa as the broader context, particularly in a business school setting?

Morocco is definitely a bridge between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East—culturally, religiously, and historically. It is also a country that is growing rapidly in terms of its financial sector, infrastructure, manufacturing, and agribusiness. So it is a growing economy.

Having worked in France for 15 years and observing Morocco from there, it was very clear that many young Moroccans traditionally left the country to pursue higher education, especially to attend good business schools abroad. At the same time, the country needed to retain this talent, train it locally, and ensure that these graduates could contribute to Morocco’s economic growth.

That meant the country needed to invest in strong universities that operate at international standards. If you want to retain your youth, you need to offer an educational experience that is comparable to what students can find in Europe—particularly in France or Spain. That was the original project of the International University of Rabat about 15 years ago: to develop a university with international exposure, recognition, accreditations, and rankings.

The ambition and the vision were clearly there from the beginning. Of course, the university needed time to build its different schools—business, engineering, and others—but the direction was set. In 2016, the president recruited a very experienced French dean, my predecessor, who spent seven or eight years designing a business school capable of achieving international accreditations and recognition.

Rabat Business School earned AACSB accreditation in 2020. AACSB is largely focused on quality assurance processes. It requires schools to demonstrate that they have strong processes and clear performance indicators, rather than demanding extremely high performance levels from the start. It is not easy to obtain, but it is less demanding in terms of outcomes than EQUIS.

At the time of AACSB accreditation, the school had around 900 students, about 35 professors, and roughly 10 academic articles published per year. Research output was very limited. Once AACSB was secured, the school began to structure itself more systematically and to recruit faculty who were capable of publishing in solid academic journals—not necessarily top-tier journals, but strong, recognized outlets.

Between 2021 and 2025, we increased our research output from around 10 publications per year to approximately 140. Faculty numbers grew from 35 to 70 professors. We also expanded our international partnerships, moving from a very limited number of accredited partners to around 140 or 150 today, with 90% of them holding at least one international accreditation—AACSB, EQUIS, or AMBA.

Our objective now is to maintain that 90% level of internationally accredited partners while increasing the share of Triple Crown institutions. During the EQUIS visit last year, 30% of our partners were Triple Crown. Today, we are at 40%, and our goal is to reach 50% within the next couple of years.

Have student numbers increased as well?

Yes. This year, we have around 3,000 students in the business school. At the university level, there are about 10,000 students in total.

Within the business school, we now have those 3,000 students, and we have also developed an Executive MBA and broader executive education offerings. Executive education, including the MBA, now represents about 8% of our activity.

We have just received AMBA eligibility for our Executive MBA. Hopefully, by the end of the year, we will have an AMBA visit, and, as I say here, inshallah, we will achieve the Triple Crown.

What is the target year for achieving the Triple Crown? How long do those processes take, and where are you in that timeline?

For AMBA, we received eligibility just last month. AMBA is very different from AACSB and EQUIS in terms of timing. With AACSB, once you receive eligibility, you typically still need four or five years of work before obtaining accreditation. For EQUIS, the process usually takes between one and two years. For AMBA, it is much faster, generally between six and 12 months.

That is why I can say that, hopefully, by the end of 2026, we should have the AMBA visit, at least. Our ambition is to become the first Triple Crown business school in North Africa, and only the fifth on the African continent.

What is your student population like? Where are students coming from?

About 70% to 75% of our students are Moroccan. Some hold dual nationalities, often Moroccan and French, but we generally consider them Moroccan. Roughly 25% of our students are international.

Our international population is primarily made up of students from Sub-Saharan Africa. Most of these students come from French-speaking Sub-Saharan countries.

What we have observed recently is a significant increase in international enrollment. This past September, the number of new international students increased by about 60%. Of roughly 200 new international students, around 40 came from outside Africa.

We are also seeing growth from the French market. Last year, we had only two French students; this year, that number increased to 10.

Are international students looking to stay and build careers in Africa? Is that part of the return on investment they are seeking from an international business degree?

At least in the case of Morocco, the way the Global North—especially Europe—views the country has evolved significantly. Six years ago, when I was still working at a French business school and signed an MOU with Rabat Business School, French students were not interested in going to Morocco for an international semester abroad. That has changed radically.

Today, French students represent the largest group participating in international mobility to Morocco, and in every French business school, those numbers increase each year. In Europe—and hopefully in North America as well—Morocco is now clearly identified as a growing and influential country, not only within Africa but globally.

In many ways, Morocco functions a bit like Switzerland. It maintains neutrality and works with everyone. It has diplomatic relationships across geopolitical divides and navigates international diplomacy very effectively. At the same time, the economy is growing, demographics are favorable, and the middle class is expanding. There is also a strong sense of pride among both the middle and upper classes in keeping their children in Morocco for higher education.

I truly believe that what is happening across the continent today is very similar to what occurred in China and India 15 or 20 years ago. When I analyzed the Financial Times Master in Management rankings six years ago, there were only eight schools from outside Western countries. This year, there are 15.

Four of those schools are now in the top 10, and six or seven are in the top 20.

If you look at other rankings, such as the Financial Times rankings for executive education, you see many schools from South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt. When you speak with people from AACSB or AMBA, they consistently say that Africa is now the fastest-growing market for accreditations.

All of these signals point in the same direction: something significant is happening in terms of the international recognition and credibility of African business schools.

Is Rabat Business School replicating a French or Western model of business education, or are there distinctly Moroccan or African elements built into what you offer?

Of course, Rabat Business School does have a French legacy, and that is a fair way to describe it. Since my predecessor was French and spent seven or eight years designing the school, there is definitely a French touch. That said, the broader framework is really driven by international accreditations. If you want to earn AACSB or, even more so, EQUIS, you need to build a top-tier faculty. You need at least 20% to 25% international students and at least 50% international faculty members. These kinds of KPIs are essentially the rules of the international accreditation game.

If you want to play that game, you have to play by those rules. At the same time, what really struck me when I arrived—and what we are actively working on—is making sure that our Moroccan and African identity is visible and felt when people come to the school. In many ways, this is already happening, but I’m not sure we have fully leveraged it yet, especially in terms of community building and external communication.

That is why this kind of interview and coverage is very meaningful for me and for the business school. It is a way to make sure people understand that we are an African business school, even though we hold AACSB and EQUIS accreditations. We are playing the international accreditation game, but we are doing it from Africa and with an African-based perspective.

At the same time, there is also a European—and even American—dimension. Being so close to Europe makes Morocco very different from countries like Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, or even South Africa or Ethiopia. Morocco has always looked north. People go to Spain for vacation, for example—and today, Spain is actually cheaper than Morocco, with better value for money.

That says something about how the country is evolving. I’m not saying everyone is wealthy, of course, but you can clearly see a growing middle class, alongside very wealthy individuals, as in many countries. People can afford to travel now, and they make choices based on value. All of this shapes the context in which we operate and the kind of education we deliver.

Going into 2026, what are your major goals and priorities?

We have just finalized a new strategic plan that runs through 2030. I can send you the document if you’d like. Broadly speaking, the plan is about doing better and on a larger scale what we have been doing over the past five years.

In terms of size, we plan to grow from 3,000 students to around 4,000 or 4,500 by the end of the plan.

With this new strategic plan, we also want to give the school a more distinct identity. The previous plan focused on fundamentals: hiring more professors, increasing the number of international partners, boosting research output, and so on. That work was done—and done very well. I often tell my team that the previous strategic plan was essentially a startup strategy.

Now, the goal is to bring more maturity to the school. We want to consolidate the momentum while also working along several new dimensions.

One key direction is interdisciplinarity, both in our programs and courses, and in our research. Being the business school of a comprehensive university gives us an advantage here. This is not just about internal collaboration within the university. For example, we have just signed a double-degree agreement for a master’s in international business: students complete their first year at Rabat Business School and their second year abroad, earning a master’s in international relations. This allows students to combine business with diplomacy, geopolitics, and related fields.

We want to expand this approach across different areas, including political science, geopolitics, law, engineering, and AI. At the undergraduate level, I am currently negotiating a double-degree partnership with Mines Paris–PSL, which is one of the top engineering schools in France. Interdisciplinarity is a major strategic pillar.

A second major focus is Africa. As I mentioned earlier, the school was initially designed in a way that could operate almost anywhere, much like a traditional European business school. Now, we want to make sure Rabat Business School is clearly recognized as an African business school.

We plan to develop more programs focused on doing business in Africa and to organize conferences that bring together researchers and practitioners around that theme. We also want to increase intra-African mobility. Two years ago, we launched a triple bachelor’s degree (International Talents in Business) with  the first year in Rabat, the second year in Paris at IESEG, and the third and fourth years at HEC Montreal. At the end of the program, students earn three degrees, one from each of the three institutions.

Are those programs made up mostly of African students, or do you see a strong international mix as well?

There is a good international mix. The majority of students are African, but not exclusively. For example, we had three French students in that program. Our goal is to develop similar programs within the African continent as well.

More broadly, doing more around Africa is one of the key projects we are working on. Another major focus is impact, which is a broad but very important theme for us.

We want to do more in terms of student experience and ensure that our faculty are not only focused on research, but also actively thinking about pedagogy. We also want to deepen our engagement with companies. We are already very strong when it comes to student placements, company visits, and master classes, but I believe we can go further by developing more research projects with companies. That would allow us to have a deeper impact on the local business ecosystem.

We also want the school to act as a responsible citizen within Morocco. We already work extensively with local communities, but one initiative we are launching is the creation of an observatory focused on Moroccan youth and their relationship to work and management. We have just conducted our first survey, and we should have the results next month.

This is one way for the school to contribute more broadly to society—to give voice to young people and better understand their expectations and experiences in relation to work. It’s not the only way we can do this, but it is an important step in acting as a socially engaged institution.

With all the turbulence in U.S. higher education and growing uncertainty for international students and faculty, some people are asking whether this is Europe’s moment or China’s moment. Is there room for Rabat Business School, or for Africa more broadly, in this shift?

Yes, and we are already seeing it. We are taking a share of that movement, and I can give you a concrete example. This year, I recruited 10 new professors. The number itself is not the point—the quality is. These faculty members are much more senior than those we were able to recruit in previous years.

They come from the U.K., France, Belgium, Dubai, and Australia. That is truly new for us. I think it says a lot about where Rabat Business School now stands in terms of international quality. But it’s not only about the school. It’s also about Morocco as a country, and, of course, about what is happening in places like France and England.

Morocco is a very safe and very open country. It is also very close to Europe. London is just a three-hour flight away, with multiple flights per day. The weather is better, the quality of life is strong, and the infrastructure is solid.

So yes, there is clearly a share of international students and faculty that we are trying to attract—and honestly, I want to take it. When I look at the quality of the school and the infrastructure of the country, there is no reason why Rabat Business School, and Morocco more broadly, should not capture a meaningful share of this global shift.

Anything else you’d like to add?

I believe something needs to change in how African business schools are perceived and represented. Of course, not all African business schools are double- or triple-accredited, but there are more and more of them, and there will be even more in the future.

When I arrived and started negotiating partnerships with European and North American institutions, I encountered a significant number that were mainly interested in signing double degrees where my students would pay their fees, without any form of reciprocity.

I sometimes feel that some schools—especially those facing demographic challenges—have identified Africa as the next recruitment market now that Chinese students are no longer going to Europe or the U.S. at the same scale. I knew this dynamic already, but experiencing it from this side was not very pleasant.

Very quickly, I decided not to sign that kind of memorandum of understanding. I was clear: I want double degrees, but with reciprocity. There is no reason we should not have reciprocal agreements.

Despite that, I was able to secure at least 10 reciprocal double-degree partnerships: with French business schools, one in Poland, one in Russia, one in Scandinavia, and one in Italy. We moved from about 10 available places to around 80 places for free double degrees for our students.

DON’T MISS: UNIVERSITY OF VAASA’S MINNA MARTIKAINEN ON BUILDING A BUSINESS SCHOOL FOR THE ENERGY TRANSITION AND WHARTON’S JERRY WIND ON CREATIVITY, LEADERSHIP, AND THE AGE OF AI 

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