Partners
Right from the start ESSA has been working alongside partners in and outside of Africa who share our vision and belief that by working together, we will each be more successful in achieving our goals.
Current Partners
AAU's mission is to enhance the quality and relevance of higher education in Africa.
AAU formed a partnership with ESSA in 2017, and we have been working together on a range of projects, most notably the "Demographics of Faculty" and the creation of a "Pan African Academic Jobs Board."
The #defyhatenow initiative works on providing community-based and data-driven solutions to the problem of hate speech, disinformation and misinformation.
We are working together on the Building Alumni Communities and Impact Networks project. A capacity building initiative that up-skills key staff members in the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Partner institutions through learning.
eBASE Africa is an international charity registered in Cameroon that works to make basic services more effective by ensuring the best available research evidence is applied in service delivery.
We have been working with eBase on a data alliance for education, making the best use of data to improve education in sub-Saharan Africa.
eepdAfrica is a voluntary Non Governmental Organisation directed and staffed by volunteers with and without disabilities.
We have partnered on the Building Alumni Communities and Impact Networks project, a capacity building initiative that up-skills key staff members in the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Partner institutions through learning.
InHive's mission is to empower young people and youth-led organisations to create positive change in their communities and beyond by employing a network-building approach.
We have partnered on the Building Alumni Communities and Impact Networks project, a capacity building initiative that up-skills key staff members in the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Partner institutions through learning.
The IUCEA's main objective is to facilitate networking among universities in East Africa and with universities outside the region.
IUCEA works with ESSA on the Demographics of African Faculty initiative.
The Population Reference Bureau is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research organisation focused on improving people’s health and well-being through evidence-based policies and practices.
PRB works with the Association of African Universities and ESSA on the Demographics of African Faculty initiative.
The Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre pioneers research into overcoming barriers to education and promotes education as an engine for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
The REAL Centre is collaborating with ESSA to build a strong network of education researchers in sub-Saharan Africa, including those specialising in early childhood development and foundational literacy. ESSA and the REAL Centre collaborated in 2017 to create the African Education Research Database, which now contains over 6,000 peer-reviewed publications on education produced by African education researchers.
The Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre
Southern Hemisphere is an African, women-owned socio-economic development consultancy with the single-minded focus of creating meaningful social change.
We are collaborating on the Enhancing Education Research in Africa project to address the unique funding challenges faced by African researchers and institutions.
T-TEL is a Ghanaian not-for-profit organisation that provides high quality technical advice, project management, research and implementation support services, using local talent and expertise to enable Ghana’s education system to reach greater heights.
T-TEL and ESSA are working together with other partners on a Secondary Education Reform (Leaders in Teaching) programme in Ghana.
The University of Warwick has been an important partner for ESSA, even before it was founded. The catalyst to create ESSA was the experience of its founder, Warwick alumnus Patrick Dunne, in founding and growing another charity with Warwick, Warwick in Africa (WIA).
Since 2006, WIA has benefitted over 465,000 young Africans in deprived and rural areas with transformed Maths and English teaching. Warwick also provided support and encouragement in the early proof-of-concept research for ESSA.
Zizi Afrique Foundation is a not-for-profit company committed to improving learning outcomes for children and youth furthest behind.
We are working on a data alliance for education, ensuring that data is used to improve education in sub-Saharan Africa.
Past Partners
Ashesi University's mission is to propel an African renaissance by educating ethical, entrepreneurial leaders.
Ashesi partnered with ESSA on The Systems Change Programme, an 18-month systems transformation process that aimed to develop the components and structures of key systems that influence outcomes in higher education institutions.
Atelier de Recherche sur l’Education au Burkina Faso (AREB) is an initiative to join up Burkinabé education researchers and provide options for dialogue with policy makers in the country.
ESSA was delighted to assist AREB’s work by supporting their conference “L’éducation au Burkina Faso: progrès, défis actuels et perspectives” in November 2017.
Decent Jobs for Youth is the global initiative to scale up action and impact on youth employment in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
We partnered on the Unlocking Data initiative to increase data access and use for education in Africa.
The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) is an agency of Ghana mandated to assure quality at the tertiary education level.
GTEC was ESSA’s first government partner for the pilot on the Demographics of African Faculty project.
NORRAG co-produces, mobilises and disseminates quality research and evidence on education and development in order to help reduce uncertainty for policy makers, planners, practitioners and researchers.
NORRAG and ESSA partnered with AFD to support research on education in Francophone West Africa, particularly in Burkina Faso.
Network for international policies and cooperation in education and training (NORRAG)
The Partnership for African Social and Governance Research is an independent, non-partisan, pan-African not-for-profit organisation working to enhance research excellence in governance and public policy that contributes to the overall wellbeing of women and men.
PASGR in collaboration with ESSA hosted a series of webinars on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education in sub-Saharan Africa.
Quilt.AI is a technology company that creates empathy at scale between organisations and the billions of people on the planet.
ESSA worked with Quilt.AI in developing a digital analysis to understand students' views on scholarships and faculty motivations and challenges in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Education Collaborative spearheads a model of collective engagement that promises to significantly reshape higher education outcomes for students.
ESSA teamed up with The Education Collaborative and Kepler to implement the systems change programme.
Jacobs University is a private, English-language campus-based university in Bremen, Germany.
Jacobs University partnered with ESSA in a number of ways, including workshops with its African students and paid projects and assignments to support our social media activity.
The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture supports universities to address the important role that universities play in contributing to the well‐being of small‐scale farmers and the economic development of countries throughout the sub‐ Saharan Africa region.
Our collaboration focused on research and evidence in agriculture, science and technology education.
The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM).
Current Funders
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided funding to ESSA to augment its work in promoting African researchers.
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is a family foundation established in 1944 to provide funds to nonprofit organisations working to improve the lives of individuals living in poverty and experiencing disadvantage throughout the world.
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation supports ESSA’s research project in collaboration with the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge, UK.
Carnegie Corporation of New York is one of America’s oldest grantmaking foundations that seeks to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.
They are supporting us on our Demographics of African Faculty in the East African Community project.
Echidna Giving is a private funder with one sole aim – Delivering on the promise of girls' education.
Echidna Giving is supporting us on the Enhancing Education Research in Africa project.
Imaginable Futures is a global philanthropic investment firm driven by impact first and the belief that learning is key to well-being and equitable, healthy systems.
ESSA got funding from Imaginable Futures to augment its work promoting African researchers.
The Jacobs Foundation has a main focus on the promotion of child and youth development all over the world.
The Jacobs Foundation is supporting our efforts in the Enhancing Education Research in Africa project.
The EdTech Hub leads rigorous academic research and gives evidence-based advice about how to use technology in education.
We have been working with the EdTech Hub on a data alliance for education, making the best use of data to improve education in sub-Saharan Africa.
GPE is the largest global fund solely dedicated to transforming education in lower-income countries.
GPE supports ESSA on the Unlocking Data initiative.
As part of Canada’s foreign affairs and development efforts, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) champions and funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions to drive global change.
IDRC is supporting us on the Unlocking Data initiative.
Previous Funders
Dubai Cares has been working towards providing children and young people in developing countries with access to quality education.
Dubai Cares partnered with ESSA in 2019, providing $1.5 million to strengthen ESSA as an organisation and accelerate its vision of high-quality education in sub-Saharan Africa that enables young people to achieve their ambitions.
The Mastercard Foundation is one of the world’s leading foundations in the higher education space, with a strong presence in Africa, especially in capacity building and scholarships. The Mastercard Foundation was a natural partner for ESSA on the "Demographics of Faculty" project, providing funding for the Ghana pilot as well as other support and insights.
The Robert Bosch Stiftung is a leading European private foundation and ESSA’s major funder at start up.
The Bosch Foundation has also provided considerable non-financial support, including seconding ESSA’s founding director, Olaf Hahn, providing board support through the trusteeship of their CEO, and providing access to its broad network of relationships in Africa and around the world.
The Schaufler Foundation aims to combine entrepreneurship with science, research, education, and the arts.
In the field of education, the foundation supports a variety of universities in Germany. It collaborated with ESSA to expand its activities into Africa. The Schaufler Foundation contributed significantly to ESSA's Pilot Scholarship Impact Hub project.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is a global organisation dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights, and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people.
UNHCR and ESSA mapped tertiary education and vocational opportunities in West and Central Africa.