Honoris United Universities, an African Actis-backed education group, has added Nile University of Nigeria, a private university based in Abuja, to its extensive network. The group already owns private universities in Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This is its first acquisition in West Africa
Actis launched Honoris United Universities, a private pan-African higher education network, in 2017 with a $275 million fund. Honoris United Universities harnesses the collaborative intelligence and the pioneering efforts of institutions to educate Africa’s next generations of leaders and professionals.
Actis’s strategy for Honoris United Universities started with “beacon” markets in Francophone Africa. In December 2014, it made an investment in Universite 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 Universite Mundiapolis. Mundiapolis is renowned for its international approach and focus on employability.
In 2017, Honoris United Universities acquired EMSI, Ecole Marocaine des Sciences de l’Ingenieur, the largest private institution in Morocco and the leading private engineering school as well as Management College of Southern Africa, better known as “MANCOSA” and the REGENT Business School, anchoring the platform in South Africa, an important Anglophone beacon market. Together, MANCOSA and REGENT are South Africa’s leading private distance learning institutions, focused on providing accredited, accessible and affordable education.
According to the CEO Luis Lopez, the deal was closed back in February before the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the continent.
Established in 2009, the Nile university is the first Honoris institution with its own stand-alone medical school, a strong complement to Honoris’ other medical training facilities including the Honoris Medical Simulation Centre, Tunis.
Currently, Nile University has six faculties and a School of Postgraduate Studies, as well as over 3,700 students (undergraduate and postgraduate). It currently offers 26 undergraduate programs and 36 postgraduate programs.
Honoris will expand its digital distance learning programmes with the aim of attracting students in Lagos and 2 other cities in northern Nigeria.
