Research that moves policy and people.

There is great potential within countries in Africa for developing new knowledge, research, and ideas to help address some of the challenges faced by the region. Over 50 per cent of the population of Africa is younger than 25 years old. Enrollments and enrollment ratios in tertiary education are increasing, graduate numbers are increasing, and scientific research output from the region more than doubled between 2003 and 2012. But the massive increase in student enrollment over the past couple of decades has not been accompanied by a proportionate increase in academic and business research.

For instance, according to Elsevier and The World Bank (2014), Sub-Saharan Africa with 12 percent of the world’s population still accounts for less than one percent of global research output. Countries with comparable levels of research output in 2003, such as Malaysia and Vietnam, grew even faster over the same period. Generally, Africa has a very low number of academic researchers per million population compared to other continents.

Universities face enormous challenges in promoting research to support development, especially through doctoral education. Research output in Africa relies heavily on visiting faculty, which can limit long-term collaboration with local industry and reduce local impact. It is felt that research in Africa can only flourish if there are sufficient African researchers. SENLA Research Hub exists to advance both business and academic research in Africa.