Muni University wins $3 million Mastercard Foundation prize

KIGALI, Rwanda — Uganda’s Muni University has won $3 million from the Mastercard Foundation as one of five African institutions named the inaugural winners of a new higher education award, the foundation announced Monday.

The Africa Higher Education for Transformation Prize, backed by a $500 million commitment over its first decade, recognizes universities driving systemic, institution-wide change and expanding opportunities for young people, the foundation said.

Muni University was recognized for connecting education to employment for refugees and underserved youth. Through its Refugee and Host Community Youth Empowerment and Transformation Initiative, up to 70% of participants have found work within three months of completing the program, the foundation said. The $3 million award will go toward scaling that work through initiatives agreed on with the foundation.

The other winners are Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia; the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering in Burkina Faso; Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana; and the University of Rwanda. Each also receives $3 million.

“For 20 years we have seen African institutions rethink what higher education can deliver,” said Sewit Ahderom, the foundation’s president and CEO. “We are backing homegrown excellence with a decade-long commitment, so that universities across the continent become engines of opportunity for millions of young people.”

The prize recognizes institutions across categories including teaching and learning, transitions to employment, research and innovation, and entrepreneurship, or within priority sectors such as climate, agriculture, health and technology. Over the next decade, it will honor at least 150 institutions, the foundation said.

Addis Ababa University and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology were both recognized for research and innovation, the University of Rwanda for its role in health, and the International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering, known as 2iE, for teaching and learning.

“This is the moment to reimagine what higher education institutions can do as engines of human capital development — not only as a place of learning, but as a direct route to work, to economic participation, and to a better future for young people across Africa,” said Dr. John Nkengasong, executive director of higher education initiatives at the foundation.

The winners will be honored at the Higher Education Transformation Convening in Accra, Ghana, on Sept. 22.

The Mastercard Foundation, a registered Canadian charity and one of the world’s largest foundations, is the leading funder of education in Africa. Established in 2006, its Young Africa Works strategy aims to help 30 million young people, particularly young women, reach decent work by 2030.