The World Bank’s has approved US$150 million to finance 19 university-based Centres of Excellence in seven countries in West and Central Africa. These competitively selected centres will receive funding for advanced specialized studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related disciplines, as well as in agriculture and health.

Africa is facing a serious shortage of skilled workers in fast-growing sectors such as extractive industries, energy, water, and infrastructure. The landmark Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) project will equip young Africans with new scientific and technical skills. The project will be financed through IDA credits to the governments of Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Togo.

World Bank Education Manager for West and Central Africa, Peter Materu, says students in West and Central Africa urgently need high-quality science and technology programs to compete in their own regional job market as well as the global economy. However, not a single university from this part of Africa ranks in the world’s top 500 universities. “The African Centres of Excellence project is a win-win initiative—it will help these young people achieve their aspirations without leaving Africa, and it will help firms to find advanced skills and knowledge domestically and to compete more effectively in international market,” he said.

A further challenge for Africa is that it needs its own research and innovative solutions to tackle its development challenges including climate change, which calls for urgent measures to increase yields in agriculture. However, the researcher-to-population ratio is very low in African countries. Burkina Faso, for example, has 45 research and development (R&D) specialists per million people, and Nigeria has 38, in comparison with 1 714 in East Asia.

The new ACEs offer a regionally integrated way to increase high-quality R&D services that will help meet these challenges, yet are efficient and economical given limited public budgets. Coordination and knowledge-sharing among the 19 ACEs will be managed through the Association of African Universities (AAU), which has received a US$5 million grant for this purpose, and is an important regional partner.

“I am excited to support these pioneering centres of excellence because they will be another step in building and nurturing specialised world-class higher education institutions on the continent,” said World Bank Vice-President for Africa Makhtar Diop. “I can think of no better way to grow African economies, create jobs, and support research in Africa, than educating young graduates with expertise in high-demand areas such as chemical engineering, crop science, and the control of infectious diseases.”