As we mark ten years of impactful work through the Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE), we are excited to present a special episode this month that showcases the program’s remarkable achievements. This episode delves into the transformative impact of the ACE initiative on higher education, which drives innovation and competitiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In this episode, we have an engaging conversation with Sylvia Mkandawire, the program manager at the Association of African Universities, who shares her insights on the program's success and future aspirations. Additionally, we hear inspiring stories from alumni across the region, including Nigeria, Togo, Uganda, Malawi, and Ghana, who discuss their experiences and the positive changes the ACE program has brought to their lives.
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“I would like to encourage ladies out there, no matter how strong or how weak you think you are, academically there is always a space for you in science. Science is so broad that they you can always find your strength. You can improve on it. So, if you’re interested in science, get to do it. Go for it!” - Osho Oluwadamilola
Rama George: Hello and welcome to People First, the podcast from the World Bank that brings you stories and voices from Western and Central Africa. I'm your host, Rama George. Today, we're talking about higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ensuring Africa's prosperity and economic transformation requires prioritizing education. Education for all—girls and boys alike—that leverages technology and research. An education that empowers every individual.
This is what the Africa Centers of Excellences (or ACEs) have been aiming to do. Launched in 2014, the ACES are now considered today as the first large scale World Bank-funded regional project in the higher education sector in Africa. They cover more than 80 centers in more than 50 universities across 20 countries in Africa.
Here are a few numbers.
In a decade, the ACEs have enrolled over 90,000 students across Africa, including nearly 8000 PhDs and over 30,000 master’s degrees. In addition, 52 000 youths attended short professional training programs. More than 10,000 research outputs have been published and serving the region.
Over 130 programs have obtained international accreditation, while more than 600 programs have been nationally accredited.
In this episode, we will meet the program manager and some of the alumni. They are originally from Nigeria, Togo, Uganda, Malawi, and from our host country, Ghana. They will share their views about the program, update us on their journey so far, and tell us what motivates them every day.
Are you ready? Let’s go!
Akwaaba, from Accra!
At the coordination and knowledge-sharing levels, ACEs are implemented by the Association of African Universities and the Inter-University Council of East Africa. We sat down with Sylvia Mkandawire, who manages the ACE program at the Association of African Universities to learn more.
Hello Sylvia! It’s good to see you.
Sylvia Mkandawire: Hi Rama!
Rama George: Could you please tell us more about your job and what inspired your journey to join the ACE program and what continues to motivate you in your role?
Sylvia Mkandawire: I work with the association of African Universities, and I'm coordinating the 54 centers in West and Central Africa, including Djibouti. I did a PhD program in Makerere University, in Uganda, and this is a transdisciplinary program, which was designed in 2012. When I completed in 2019, I landed on an advertisement where they were looking for a program coordinator. Looking at how the ACE project has been designed. It fit very well within the skills that I had obtained from the Makerere University. And indeed, when I joined the African Centers of Excellence, it’s been quite interesting to see how we are managing institutional development, different stakeholders that fall within the innovation framework.
Rama George: The ACEs focus on five main thematic areas: agriculture, health, environment, applied social sciences, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Over the past decade, what major accomplishments have the Africa Centers of Excellence achieved?
Sylvia Mkandawire: There's been impressive achievements throughout the ten years of the African Centers of Excellence. We’ve surpassed expectations. The centers have mobilized revenue. This was a key critical component for their sustainability. So, we are looking at over 190 million US dollars mobilized by the centers for their sustainability in case of anything beyond the ACE program. So, there have been significant achievements throughout the project indicators of ACE.
Rama George: What key strategies or elements have been instrumental in reaching these milestones and are any specific factors that contributed?
Sylvia Mkandawire: I will start with the design of the program.
The ACE program follows through a results-based financing approach. That process has helped us to ensure accountability, transparency, and making sure every country is aligning to the project expectations without no deviations. There's been a lot of institutional ownership efforts.
I think regional collaboration has been great to also mobilize partners that can help us and support the implementation of the ACEs by bringing additional skills.
Rama George: Now, how are you preparing young women and men about jobs of the future, as particularly here in Africa?
Sylvia Mkandawire: The ACE programs are supporting the graduates through initiatives like opportunities to commercialize research, giving seed grants to the students so that they can actually design innovations that can be taken to the market. So, the incubation, the entrepreneurship opportunities that the program has presented to the students has also contributed to workforce development.
And then, when we also see some centers, they have business incubators that have been established and are operational. That's also another effort in skills development. And we've also promoted industry linkages through internship placements. Students are being placed in various countries—at regional level, national level—just to attain skills, that are aligning to the job market.
Rama George: Right. A key aspect is the regionality of the program for greater impact. This leads me to the next group of students. We have Esther Opara, joining us with Fanny Crossby KATRO. Esther is from Nigeria while Fanny is from Togo. They study at the CERViDA-DOUNEDON Regional Center of Excellence in Sustainable Cities in Africa—a prominent research institution in Lomé, Togo. They’ve invented the Pamplo Bike, a bamboo bicycle. Yes, you heard right! It’s even complete with a rattan basket installed in the front.
Let’s hear from them on the innovation angle of the ACE program.
Esther and Fanny: Pamplo Bike is a combination of two languages: Pamplo is from local language from Togo and bike because she's from Nigeria. So Pamplo bike!
Our innovation is a blend of natural resources and that meets up today's research because we are blending the resources we have in Lomé, combining natural resources with innovation. Pamplo bike is 75% made of bamboo and 25% made of metal. And in the near future, we are hoping to have at least 95% of bamboo bicycle.
According to our research, according to the literature, it shows that bamboo is a very solid product which can last for 25 years.
Rama George: Nice! What makes you proud of being part of the ACE program and of your innovation, the Pamplo Bike?
Esther and Fanny: We are proud because we are women and initially people think that it wouldn't be a reality. We want to motivate other women out there, other girls out there, that it is possible. Girls can do it. We can realize our ideas.
We have this opportunity because of ACE we are so proud that ACE is funding our research. So, thank you!
Rama George: Congratulations! I wish you much success and I can’t wait to get on that bike later!
Now, turning back to you, Sylvia… looking ahead, what actions (or initiatives) would you encourage stakeholders to undertake to further enhance the impact of African higher education?
Sylvia Mkandawire: We need to invest more in improving the industry linkage. Yes, we've made strides, but we still have gaps. We want to retain these young professionals in Africa.
Rama George: What makes you the happiest of the achievements during these ten years?
Sylvia Mkandawire: During the 10 years, we are seeing universities that have transformed. We are seeing the teaching and learning facilities that are relevant and competitive, just as in any other country, US, UK, and when you get into a laboratory, where the ACE center has been established, you feel like you are in Harvard, in Africa here.
I think it has been amazing! When we see graduates getting their own companies, running their own institutions, it really makes me happy!
Rama George: As we’ve heard, the ACE program is a series of regional higher education projects that aim to improve education, training and applied research at the post-graduate level in strategic priority fields, including STEM, agriculture, health, industry and related fields. And…listen to this, one third of ACE students are also female.
We met with met with Fawzia Muhammed Zuka. She recently completed her PhD in Integrated Coastal Zone Management from the Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience at the University of Cape Coast, in Ghana.
This is what she told us about girls in STEM.
Fawzia Muhammed Zuka: For young girls, a career in STEM is very important. You need to seek mentors—the right ones. Speak to the right people and ask questions. You also need to explore big opportunities—whether small or big opportunities, such as volunteer programs, and then, internships. These programs can help you with your career because that's where you build your networks. You learn on the job.
And also, just do it. And read, and read, and read, and also work hard.
Rama George: The ACEs are an African response to Africa’s challenges by African scientists who deliver programs of international standard and under modern conditions. We also met with an alumnus, who is now the Managing Director of Aquaponic for life, based in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Peace Mnelemba: Hello, my name is Peace Mnelemba. I'm from Malawi and I got a Master's scholarship under Aquafish Center, which is an ACE center. After I finished my Master's program, I decided to open my own company called Aquaponic for Life, where we are facilitating aquaponic systems, that grow fish and vegetables simultaneously. These systems are really efficient and environmentally and economically sustainable as they utilize 90% less water. The main reason for establishing this company was mainly to create jobs for fellow young people in Malawi. We've worked with 400 youth, and we've managed to establish and develop over 40 aquaponic systems in Malawi. And in addition to that we are using organic waste to produce feed for fish and other livestock. Thank you very much.
Rama George: Thank you for sharing your story with us!
The results on the ground are also feeding into the World Bank Africa’s Jobs and Economic Transformation agenda.
The project unites top African professors to train postgraduate students using modern resources and infrastructure, offering internationally standard programs that foster innovation and competitiveness.
With additional financial contribution from the French Development Agency, global partnerships and shared commitment from all parties involved has been key for the program, especially with other universities, industrialists, and the private sector in Africa. This is critical for continued student research, internships, and access to job markets.
As we wrap things up, let's listen to Albert Arden, an undergraduate in biochemistry and nutrition from the University of Ghana play on words. He is also the recipient of the best Student Spoken Word Artist/Poet in the 2025 Ghana Tertiary Achievers' Awards!
Albert Arden: African Higher Education Centers of Excellence. You ACEd it.
10,000 papers. These are not just ink on a page but blueprints to shape an age, an age, a gauge of African stage higher in Africa. She rose higher and brought education at the forefronts of the world. You make things very easy in Africa because you threw light into the exact education we are looking up to.
STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics—STEM deeply rooted in excellence, and today we are very proud of you.
We are proud of the mind refined and inclined to the plane of the future. We are proud of you.
I mean, when I see Africa's education today, I seize the sight and the excitement.
When eyes see Africa's education today, I seize the sight with excitement.
And now, in our imaginations, we are not just going to imagine nations with great education, because we see it—we see excellent education, we see transformation, and we say congratulations ACE for ACEing it—Congratulations!
Rama George: I'm Rama George, and you've been listening to People First, the podcast featuring the African Centers of Excellence program, an initiative funded by the World Bank and supported by partner institutions.
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Join us next time for another episode of People First. On behalf of the production team, thank you so much for listening.
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People First Podcast provides a human angle to concrete development topics as they affect people in Western and Central Africa. It also features World Bank project and initiatives. Join us for a sustainable and inclusive development!
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The World Bank Group is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.