Rabat Business School dean Nicolas Arnaud offers a comprehensive guide to the growing prominence of Africa’s leading business schools on the world stage of management education and reveals how the region is beginning to reshape competition, collaboration and internationalisation shift Continental
I n a context shaped by the traditional divide between the Global North and Global South, many business schools in the Northern hemisphere have tended to see African institutions primarily as partners in student mobility. This approach has also reflected certain historical realities, while enabling institutions to be valued for the international exposure, tuition flows and diversity they bring. However, a new dynamic focused on mutual learning, institutional capacity building and the rapid strengthening of business schools in Africa is emerging to complement and even challenge this relationship. In this evolving landscape, there must be a shift from partnerships formed with a largely commercial logic towards those that are more balanced and genuinely collaborative.
Across Africa, a growing number of institutions have reached levels of academic quality, governance, research intensity and international alignment comparable to global standards of excellence. Their progress has been driven by deliberate institutional investment, the pursuit of the most demanding international accreditations and a strategic focus on providing relevance to both local and global economic ecosystems. This is enabling business schools in the region to play an increasingly significant role within the global management education ecosystem. They are increasingly credible strategic partners and, in some segments, emerging competitors capable of co-designing programmes, contributing meaningfully to international research projects and shaping the industry, while attracting and retaining more local and regional students. In short, Africa’s leading business schools are no longer simply gateways to student markets;
10 Business Impact • ISSUE 2 • 2026
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