Scholarships for African students have augmented drastically to aid young people acquire education at institutions all over the globe. Around 62% of the African population is less than 25 years old. More than 2.2 million young adults will be going into the workforce in the following decade. This makes Africa the youngest continent of all. This youngest continent need talented people to lead their development in various ways. However, the scope of advanced studies and skill development are very limited in this continent. Thus, each year a huge number of African students move to foreign countries to get advanced training and education.
Read on to know about the remarkable scholarships available in several universities to support African students in contributing towards the continent’s advancement and growth.
Africa London Nagasaki (ALN) Fund:
This scholarship fund is set up to support African scientists to do advanced studies in a subject relevant to the control of infectious disease in Africa. Candidates who are studying on Tropical Medicine degree at the School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, Japan or an MSc at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK, are preferred. Successful applicants will receive a maximum of US$50,000 each to cover tuition fees, travel and living expenses.
The Beit Trust Scholarships:
The Trust provides a limited number of Postgraduate Scholarships for relevant courses at universities in the United Kingdom or South Africa. Candidates must be domiciled in Zambia, Zimbabwe or Malawi and aged under 30 (or 35 in the case of medical doctors).
However, the Beit Trust does not sponsor undergraduates and seldom sponsors PhDs. It only supports one-year course based MA/MSc in a UK University (two years in South Africa). No candidate will be considered unless their future work is demonstrably beneficial to the people of their parent country.
ACCESS Kenya:
The African Canadian Continuing Education Society (ACCES) is a Non-Profit Organization that has been supporting education in Kenya since 1993. The mission of ACCES is to help children and youth in Africa to obtain the skills and education needed to benefit themselves and their society. In 2019, ACCES will offer partial scholarships to young Kenyans from Busia, Bungoma, Kakamega and Vihiga Counties.
Mandela Rhodes Scholarships:
The central purpose of The Mandela Rhodes Foundation is to build exceptional leadership capacity in Africa through its various programs. The Mandela Rhodes Scholarships program offers financial support for postgraduate studies and a high quality leadership development program. The primary goal of this program is to build exceptional leaders from African nations.
Jim Olivia Scholarships:
The Jim Ovia Scholarship was founded and funded by Mr. Jim Ovia since 1998, to provide financial aid to outstanding Nigeria youths. The awardees are given funding for undergraduate study for the whole duration that includes tuition and maintenance allowance. The scholarship is open to all undergraduate University students of Nigerian citizenship. One 100 awardees are selected each year from a pool of eligible applicants. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of personal intellectual ability, leadership capability and a desire to contribute to society at large to improve the life of others.
The Graduate Institute Geneva:
The Graduate Institute, Geneva strives to support talented scholars from around the world. A number of special scholarship opportunities are available to African students. Financial aid packages may include cost-of-living scholarships, tuition reduction and/or a paid position, in various proportions.
WAAW Foundation Scholarships:
WAAW foundation’s annual scholarship initiative is aimed at supporting need based African female STEM-focused college education. This need based annual scholarships is awarded to full time students in a STEM related course in an African University.
Master’s Degree ABE Initiative:
This program offers opportunities for young and eligible African student to do masters in Japanese universities as international students. It also offer internship opportunities at Japanese enterprises to develop effective skills and knowledge in various fields.
Australia Awards Africa:
The Australia Awards is the cornerstone of the Australian Government’s development assistance program for Africa. It provides access to postgraduate education, training and professional development opportunities for suitably qualified Africans from eligible countries. On their return to the workplace, Australia Awards alumni are expected to contribute to the development of their home countries.
Irish Aid Scholarship Program:
The Embassy funds a number of scholarships through the Irish Aid Fellowship Training program. The Program enables Tanzanian citizens to study in Ireland. Operating for over 40 years, Irish Aid Fellowships have supported more than 2,000 successful awardees who have been committed to putting their acquired knowledge and skills into practice for the benefit of the wider community. Fellowships are awarded for full-time study at Masters Level, with a focus on courses relevant to Irish Aid’s development objectives. On completion, Fellowship recipients commit to resume work and put their acquired skills into good use for the benefit of their home countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa Excellence Scholarships @TU Delft:
These scholarships give talented, motivated and broadly interested students from Sub-Saharan Africa the opportunity to study at the Delft University of Technology. This scholarship supports capacity building in the Global South and advance future leadership focusing on sustainable global development. The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a guiding principle for the TU Delft. TU Delft Global Initiative offers four Sub-Saharan Africa Excellence Scholarships every year.
African Excellence Fee Waiver @ The University of Glasgow:
The University offers international scholarships for African students worth the full tuition fee of a master’s degree at the University of Glasgow. Applicants will automatically be considered based on academic merit.
African Graduate Scholarships @ UCL:
This need based scholarship supports African nationals with a high-quality academic and professional background to study at UCL. The Scholarship supports the students to study at the UCL Institute for Global Health on the MSc in Global Health and Development program.
African Postgraduate Scholarships @ Edinburgh Napier University:
Merit-based scholarships are available for self-funding African students to gain partial funding of £3,000 to study in the UK at Edinburgh Napier University.
Commonwealth Scholarships @ SOAS:
The Shared Scholarship Scheme is a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission with funding from UK Department of International Development (DFID), and UK universities. This scholarship support students from developing Commonwealth countries in Africa who would not otherwise be able to study in the United Kingdom. The commission funds the cost of tuition fees (at overseas rate), return airfares and other allowances.
Ruth First Scholarship @ Durham University:
The Ruth First Educational Trust provides opportunities for students from southern Africa to undertake postgraduate study at Durham University (UK).
Oppenheimer Fund Scholarships @ Oxford University:
The Oppenheimer Fund makes small awards that are linked to other scholarship schemes such as Clarendon and Commonwealth, in order to offer full scholarship awards. These scholarships are available for full or part time applicants for master’s and DPhil course. The applicants must be graduated from a South African university.
African Scholarships @ The University of Edinburgh:
Merit-based graduate scholarships are available to study in the UK at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) on a master’s or PhD program. This is a merit based program.
The Centre of African Studies Visiting Fellowship @ The University of Cambridge:
With generous support from the A G Leventis Foundation, the Centre of African Studies is able to appoint one six month visiting research fellowship. This scholarship is open to suitably qualified applicants from disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. The aim of the fellowships is to enable the visiting academic to spend six months calendar months between October and March focusing on their research and writing, whilst based at the Centre of African Studies in Cambridge.
The Ibrahim Scholarship Program:
The Ibrahim Scholarships support aspiring African leaders at a number of distinguished academic institutions. The scholarships develop the talent of outstanding young Africans in selected disciplines.
Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders (YALI):
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, begun in 2014. This flagship program of YALI empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking. This program also support the professional development after the scholarship recipients return home.
MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program:
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is developing Africa’s next generation of leaders. The program allows students whose talent and promise exceed their financial resources to complete their education. With a vision that education is a catalyst for social and economic change, the program focuses on developing leaders who are transformative, encouraging them to be active contributors in their communities. This program provides financial, social, and academic support to Scholars. Financial support includes, but is not limited to, tuition fees, accommodation, books, and other scholastic materials. The scope of majors and degrees eligible for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program varies from institution to institution.
MSFS Full-Tuition Scholarship @ Georgetown University:
MSFS seeks to foster a passion for civic engagement and the pursuit of social justice in all its students. Their goal is to encourage a lifelong dedication to serving the greater global community. Scholarships for Africans from sub-Saharan Africa are available to study in the US on the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program at Georgetown University in Washington DC.
Stanford Africa MBA Fellowship @ Stanford University:
The Stanford Africa MBA Fellowship Program pays for tuition and associated fees (approximately US $170,000) for citizens of African countries with financial need who wish to obtain an MBA at Stanford GSB. Stanford will award up to six Stanford Africa MBA Fellowships annually.
Zawadi Africa Education Fund for Young African Women:
The Zawadi Africa Education Fund provides scholarships to academically gifted girls from disadvantaged backgrounds from Africa to pursue higher education in the U.S.A, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya.
There are heaps of scholarships open to African students beyond these. So if you are an African and are facing obstacles to learning opportunities, make sure you take a peek at some of these scholarships that can support your education and develop your leadership skills. Taking the right step at right time will eventually bring prosperity to the African continent.
Disclaimer: No A.I. was used to generate any portion of this content.