Press Release: Reaffirming Our Commitment to Africa: ESSA Becoming Formally Established in Ghana

For immediate release | 20th April 2022 

Six years ago, Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA) was founded to contribute to education in sub-Saharan Africa. Since then, we have witnessed an increased need for access to quality education and employment opportunities by young people.  

At ESSA, we are very fortunate to have played a part in enabling young people to have high-quality education that helps them achieve their ambitions and strengthens society. A milestone in our work came last year when we got funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York to strengthen the recruitment, development, and retention of faculty in the East African Community. This follows a successful pilot study on the demographics of African faculty in Ghana in 2018 - with support from Dubai Cares, Mastercard Foundation and Robert Bosch Stiftung. 

As the next step in our commitment to sub-Saharan Africa and to support a continent with huge potential for young people, ESSA is registering a legal presence in Ghana. ESSA’s move to establish in Ghana demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that African data and evidence are channeled toward improving education for young people across sub-Saharan Africa. The launch brought together policymakers, educators, students, and funders across the tertiary education space in sub-Saharan Africa. 

ESSA has been registered as a charity in England and Wales since 2016. In 2022, we began the process of registering in Ghana to strengthen our credibility and facilitate greater African ownership of our mission in the long term. 

‘‘Our presence in Ghana strengthens our commitment to the continent. It will help us listen to our audiences, develop solutions based on local evidence and scale for regional impact. It is an opportunity to engage further with young people, policymakers, employers, education leaders, partners, and African researchers – contributing to improvement for universities and colleges in sub-Saharan Africa.’’ Dr Lucy Heady, Chief Executive Officer at ESSA. 

The last six years have seen ESSA grow a track record in supporting local institutions and governments in transforming tertiary education across the continent. This has included our work in increasing the visibility and transparency of African research on education through our African Education Research Database. Also, the ground-breaking work we have done on increasing the effectiveness and accessibility of scholarships, on the state of play of women leaders and creating the first pan-African academic jobs site.  

Commenting on this development, Dr Pauline Essah, Director of Research and Insight said: ‘‘As a Ghanaian, I am very proud that ESSA is taking this step. With a majority African board and team and local partners, we have Africans at the head and heart of all we do, so this further commitment is a very natural development for us.’’ 

ESSA is already creating an impact in tertiary education with partners like the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, Ashesi University, the Association of African Universities (AAU), EdTech Hub, among others. ESSA’s presence in Ghana supports its vision of high-quality education in sub-Saharan Africa that enables young people to achieve their ambitions and strengthens society. 

For more information 

Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA) | www.essa-africa.org 

Education Sub Sharan Africa is a charity using evidence to improve education in sub-Saharan 

Africa, enabling young people to achieve their ambitions and strengthening society. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EducationSubSaharanAfrica | Twitter: @ESSA_Africa 

Media enquiries: Eli Tsegah, ESSA Communications Assistant. Contact: eli@essa-africa.org