Mastercard Foundation Honors KNUST for Research-to-Innovation Impact with $3m Prize
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been selected as one of five African universities to receive the inaugural Mastercard Foundation Africa Higher Education for Transformation (AHEFT) Prize, each carrying a $3 million grant.
The award recognises institutions leading sweeping, university-wide change and broadening opportunities for young people across the continent. It forms part of a larger $500 million pledge from the Mastercard Foundation spanning the next ten years, positioning AHEFT as one of the continent’s most significant investments in higher education transformation.
KNUST was honoured in the Excellence in Research and Innovation category, recognised for building what the Foundation called a standout research-to-innovation pipeline. Institutions such as the Kumasi Business Incubator, the Innovation Centre, and the Technology Consultancy Centre were singled out for converting academic research into startups, industry applications, and community impact, proof, according to the Foundation, of how universities can fuel job creation and economic growth through science and entrepreneurship.
Foundation President and CEO Sewit Ahderom framed the prize as recognition of two decades of change already underway at African institutions, describing it as a long-term investment meant to turn universities into engines of opportunity for the continent’s youth.
The Other Winners
Four other universities join KNUST as inaugural laureates:
- Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia); also honoured for Excellence in Research and Innovation, for connecting academic work to national development priorities and community wellbeing.
- 2iE, the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (Burkina Faso); recognised for Excellence in Teaching and Learning through its hands-on engineering training model. Founded by 16 African nations in the Sahel, the institution has produced over 13,000 graduates, with roughly 70% finding jobs within a year of finishing.
- Muni University (Uganda); celebrated for building education-to-employment pathways for refugees and disadvantaged youth through its youth empowerment initiative.
- University of Rwanda; awarded for Excellence in Health, having trained more than 26,000 health workers and driven advances in digital health, vaccine science, biomedical engineering, and broader health systems.
Looking Ahead
The AHEFT Prize is designed to run for a decade, with the Foundation aiming to eventually recognise at least 150 institutions across areas like teaching, research, entrepreneurship, climate, agriculture, health, STEM, and digital technology/AI.
Dr John Nkengasong, the Foundation’s Executive Director of Higher Education Initiatives, described the initiative as a chance to rethink universities not just as places of learning, but as direct pathways to employment and economic participation for African youth.
The five inaugural winners will be formally celebrated at the Higher Education Transformation Convening in Accra on September 22, 2026.
