Honoris United Universities, backed by leading global investment firm Actis, is the first and largest pan-African network of private higher education institutions. Through the joined expertise of its member institutions (in North, West, Central and Southern Africa), Honoris is committed to transforming lives by providing relevant education for lifetime success. Honoris lives its core values of collaborative intelligence, cultural agility, and mobile mindsets through its mission of Education for Impact across the continent.
Formed in 2017 and leveraging its incredibly diverse network of 15 institutions across Africa, Honoris has transformed 770,000+ lives to date, upholding a legacy of 250 years’ experience in education. Championing new methods of delivery and technologies, the network has developed a tailor-made academic model designed to address Africa’s key educational challenges in a fast-changing and globalized world to improve the employability and life skills of graduates in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Honoris has developed an inaugural report that takes a lens to the impact that has been achieved for students, their families, their communities and therefore the African continent since the inception of the network in July 2017, up to December 2021. To better reflect and examine the extent to which Honoris has transformed the lives of learners throughout its 10 countries of operation in Africa, the report is framed around six core pillars: Quality of Learning, Employability, Communities, Innovation, Sustainability, and Network.
The Honoris Impact Report is therefore an opportunity not only to celebrate the successes made across the continent but to power and ignite the journey ahead. A journey that the people, and students of Honoris will continue to forge with the same authenticity and passion as was held five years ago.
We are committed to transforming the lives of our students through relevant education for lifetime success.
Quality of learning
Through its innovative and future-oriented learning approach, Honoris is widening access to quality education and developing world-class African human talent with an entrepreneurial mindset and 21st century skills to match, in order to thrive in the globally disrupted world of work.
Employability
Honoris is committed to enhancing the employability of its graduates by incorporating a comprehensive and mandatory work readiness program into the curricula, enabling graduates to develop soft skills and digital capabilities as well as real world competencies.
Communities
Building capacity in and access to high-demand fields of study is the link to employability that focuses on the jobs of tomorrow. Honoris’ significant efforts and investments in building capacity in STEM, Health and Education verticals have yielded favorable results.
Innovation
Honoris has responded with agility to the requirements for skillsets driven by the 4IR by adding new programs such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Fintech, and Cyber Security. To further integrate coding as the new second language throughout the network, Honoris launched the Honoris 21st Century Skills Certificate, the network’s first transversal program embedding the key digital and soft skills required for the new world of work.
Sustainability
Given the unique nature of Africa’s biodiversity and urgency in dealing with climate change, environmental factors are of critical importance to Honoris institutions. A first important step towards sustainability is examining the institutions’ carbon footprint and its role in the move towards clean, renewable energy.
Network
With the footprint growing from 27,000 in 2017 to 61,000+ students today, Honoris is the first pan-African education focused platform to truly connect minds and increase opportunities to uplift communities and foster mobility across the continent.
Looking forward
Honoris aims to transform 1.5 million lives by 2027 by reshaping the education landscape in Africa. We will continue to use this annual impact report as a benchmark to provide other education stakeholders with practical examples and promising practices of disruptive, future-proof education delivery.
Through a targeted and systematic approach to both expansion in existing markets and entry into new markets (such as Egypt, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Kenya in the short term), Honoris will enhance its commitment to transforming the economic prosperity of Africa through its Education for Impact mission.
Signed on behalf of Honoris United Universities
Shami Nissan – Partner, Sustainability for Actis
SHAMI NISSAN SHARES HER THOUGHTS ON WHAT EDUCATION FOR IMPACT MEANS TO HER:
Education for Impact means being intentional about the way we educate the next generation of leaders. It is important for an organization to know what their goals are and to set out a plan to achieve them. Success should be intentional. For this to happen, an organization would need to have an awareness that matches their intentionality; the foresight to make provisions for the possible outcomes of the steps they will take in their endeavours.
Honoris has set its vision and has proceeded with intention in providing students across Africa with high quality education that is accessible and affordable. Furthermore, in sewing an internal spirit of fairness and responsibility, and striving to provide services that are sustainable and purpose-driven, Honoris will reap the kind of students that will emulate these core values in the way they go on to make their impact in the world.