Somaliland: The First Pan-African Higher Education Network Launched

Honoris United Universities is the first African private higher education network bringing together the leading tertiary education institutions in North and Southern Africa for the first time. Honoris United Universities will harness the collaborative intelligence and the pioneering efforts of these institutions to educate Africa’s next generations of leaders and professionals.

Actis began with “beacon” markets in Francophone Africa. In December 2014, it made an investment in Université Centrale Group, the leading post-secondary education group in Tunisia. In 2016, the platform expanded to Morocco, creating a Northern Africa Hub through its investment in Université Mundiapolis. Mundiapolis is renowned for its international approach and focus on employability.  

Announcing subsequent additions

Today, Actis announces a further commitment to Francophone Africa through an investment, subject to regulatory approvals, in EMSI, Ecole Marocaine des Sciences de l’Ingénieur the largest private institution in Morocco and the leading private engineering school.

Actis is today also announcing the expansion of Honoris United Universities to South Africa, an important Anglophone beacon market that will anchor the platform in Southern Africa. Subject to regulatory approvals, Honoris has entered into an investment agreement with Management College of Southern Africa, better known as “MANCOSA”, and the REGENT Business School. Together, MANCOSA and REGENT are South Africa’s leading private distance learning institutions, focused on providing accredited, accessible and affordable education.

These agreements in Morocco and South Africa mark the genesis of the pan-African education leadership position that Honoris United Universities seeks to cement. As a whole, Honoris United Universities will offer more than 100 degrees in fields including Health Sciences, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Arts and Design, Media, Education and Political Science. Delivery is focused on student success and accessibility and includes a blend of on-campus, learning centers and distance learning.

Introducing the newly appointed CEO

Actis is pleased to announce the appointment of Luis Lopez as the CEO of Honoris United Universities. Luis brings a strong track record of student success and international management experience from Laureate International Universities.

Luis Lopez, newly appointed CEO of Honoris United Universities, stated – “I am proud to introduce Honoris United Universities, a unique platform providing international quality education. It is rooted in the vision of the founders of the member institutions. Aware of the vital need for their communities to develop human capital, they have each worked for decades to build relevant and demanding academic models with the dual objectives of developing the employability and the life skills of their graduates. We believe our key values – collaborative intelligence, mobility and agility – unite us in the purpose of securing a successful impact for our students, their families and their communities.”

The Founders include Slah and Chédia Ben Turkia, who established Université Centrale, IMSET (Institut Maghrébin des Sciences Economiques et de Technologie) and Académie d’Art de Carthage in Tunisia; Professor Yusuf Karodia, the founder of MANCOSA & REGENT Business School in Southern Africa; Dr. Bargach El Fatimi, Dr. Jawad Khayat, Dr. Kamal Daissaoui and Mr. Zouhair Benabbou, as founders of EMSI and Mr. Lotfi El Eulj, Mr. Abdelaziz Lahlou and their partners, the founders of Université Mundiapolis. These leaders are characterized by a strong belief in creating pan-regional successful graduates with cross-border academic qualifications and work experience to be competitive in today’s fast-paced and demanding labor markets.

Rick Philips, Partner, Actis, said: “Actis has been operating in Africa for over seven decades. Through the businesses in which we invest we employ over 100,000 people. We understand not only what students are looking for in terms of quality and access but what their prospective employers are looking for when they graduate. Businesses are looking for applicants with internationally accredited levels of education. Employers in Africa have ambitions across the continent and beyond – they need candidates with global perspectives but who understand the diversity of Africa and their local markets and can demonstrate the skills to operate successfully.”

Hichem Omezzine, Co-Lead Global Education Sector, Actis, said: “We have developed extensive domain knowledge in the education sector by backing the trend for emerging market consumers to secure their own and their children’s future quality of life by investing in their education. This has given us the credibility and experience to identify and to work with world class institutions to support their growth ambitions. We are absolutely thrilled to expand our partnership with Université Centrale and Université Mundiapolis to MANCOSA, REGENT and EMSI – three incredibly impactful market leaders.”

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About Actis:
Actis (www.act.is) is a leading investor in growth markets with over US$13bn raised since inception and a growing portfolio of investments across Asia, Africa and Latin America. The firm identifies investment opportunities in response to two trends: rising domestic consumption and the need for sustained investment in infrastructure. 
Within private equity, Actis has invested over US$5.5bn and focuses on mid-market, high-growth companies across four sectors: consumer, financial services, healthcare, and industrials. The business has completed over 150 transactions and 100+ exits across four fund vintages. 

Actis’ real estate business closed its third fund in 2016 – the largest private real estate fund targeting sub-Saharan Africa to date. 
Actis’ energy business invests in buy-and-build power generation and distribution businesses in Latin America, Africa and South Asia. The funds have invested over US$2.1 billion in more than 31 companies across 25+ countries generating 15GW of energy capacity and directly impacted 68 million consumers.
Over 40% of Actis’s investments are located across Africa. With $3 billion invested in the continent, Africa is at the heart of the firm’s strategy.
As a firm with over seven decades of experience of supporting businesses in emerging markets, a responsible approach to investing is deeply embedded in the Actis culture. Actis is a signatory to the United Nations backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), an investor initiative developed by the UNEP FI and the UN Global Compact. 
Actis has extensive domain knowledge in education and has invested and committed over $US 500m in recent years in the sector in China, Brazil and across Africa. Actis believes access to quality education is integral to developing the next generation of leaders capable of positively impacting tomorrow’s societies and economies. 
 
About Honoris United Universities:
Honoris United Universities (www.Honoris.net) is the first pan-African private higher education network committed to preparing and educating the next generation of African leaders and professionals able to impact regionally in a globalized world.
Collaborative intelligence, cultural agility and mobile mindsets and skills are at the heart of Honoris’ vision of higher education.
Honoris United Universities joins the expertise of its member institutions to create pan-regional profile graduates that are competitive in today’s fast-paced and demanding labor markets.
Honoris United Universities gathers a community of 27,000 students on 48 campuses, learning centers and on-line, in 9 countries and 30 cities across Africa.  More than 100 degrees are offered in the fields of Health Science, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Arts and Design, Media, Education and Political Science. 
Honoris United Universities. Education For Impact™.