Africa Centres of Excellence Celebrates 10 Years of Transforming Higher Education
The Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) project is gearing up to celebrate its 10th anniversary from April 7 to 9, 2025, in Accra, Ghana. This milestone event will bring together distinguished personalities, including Ghana’s Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for West and Central Africa.
The ACE project has been instrumental in advancing higher education, research, and innovation across Sub-Saharan Africa since its inception in 2014. Over the past decade, the initiative has supported more than 80 centers in 50 universities across 20 countries, training thousands of postgraduate students and developing cutting-edge research in various fields, including STEM, health, agriculture, environment, and applied social sciences.
Professor Olusola Oyewole, Secretary General of the Association of African Universities (AAU), emphasized the project’s impact on African universities. “The ACE initiative has strengthened African universities by improving postgraduate education, research capacity, and industry collaboration. It has been transformative in equipping African universities with the skills, tools, and resources needed to address the continent’s most pressing development challenges.”
Rev Prof Ing Eric Antwi Ofosu, Centre Director of the Regional Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability (RCEES) at the University of Energy and Natural Resources, described the initiative as a game-changer for postgraduate education. “For me, I would say the ACE is one of the best things that has happened to Africa. Thanks to our governments and the World Bank for making this a reality.”
The three-day event will highlight key achievements, research breakthroughs, and innovations from the ACE project. It will feature inspiring stories from young entrepreneurs, discussions on women in STEM, and breakout sessions on innovation and industry collaboration.
According to Felix Abagale, Centre Director of the West Africa Centre for Water, Irrigation, and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA) at the University for Development Studies, the program has led to significant financial investments and research advancements. Each ACE centre has received approximately $6.4 million, leading to state-of-the-art research infrastructure and an increase in scientific publications.
WACWISA alone has trained students from over 20 African countries, while RCEES has increased its annual research output from 57 publications to over 400. The program has also helped universities gain international accreditation, ensuring that graduates can compete on the global stage.
As the ACE project nears the completion of its third phase in June 2025, discussions at the 10th-anniversary event will focus on sustainability strategies, policy reforms, and funding models to ensure its long-term impact. The program, supported by the World Bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), has collectively invested $657 million, with an additional $72 million from AFD, in African higher education.
The ACE project’s 10th-anniversary celebration promises to be a momentous occasion, marking a decade of transformative impact on higher education in Africa. As the continent continues to evolve and grow, initiatives like the ACE project will play a vital role in shaping the future of African universities and the next generation of leaders.
