African MBA Applicants Look to Local and European B-Schools

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A growing number of African nationals applying to MBA programs are choosing African and European business schools, independent research shows.

The Graduate Management Admission Council’s (GMAC) World Geographic Trend Report 2010 shows that South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria all feature in the top ten most popular countries for African citizens to send their GMAT admission test scores to, receiving a combined total of almost 12% of scores sent from the continent’s citizens. The same report in 2006 found that African countries in the top 10 received fewer than 6.5% of African GMAT scores.

While the GMAC report makes clear that the US remains the dominant choice for African MBA applicants, receiving around 63.5% of GMAT scores sent from African citizens, this dominance has deteriorated since 2006 by over 9%.

“A greater level of interest in regional opportunities resulted in decreased market share for US programs over the five-year period,” GMAT states.

“Four African countries - South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria - were among the top ten GMAT score-sending destinations for African examinees in the year 2010. These countries collectively received nearly 12% of all scores sent by Africans, significantly higher than in the year 2006.”

European b-schools increasing in popularity

Further, the QS TopMBA.com Applicant Survey 2010 shows that while the United States remains the most popular MBA destination for African and Middle Eastern nationals, it is closely followed by the UK.

Additionally, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and The Netherlands all feature in the top ten most popular study destinations for nationals of Africa and the Middle East.

“There are historical ties between Europe and certain parts of Africa. North and West Africa have very strong ties in particular, which may influence applicant’s choices,” explains Caroline Diarte Edwards, director of marketing for MBA admissions and financial aid at INSEAD business school, which has campuses in both France and Singapore.

“We have seen a lot of growth [in applications] from countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.”

William Dávila, international development director for Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East at IE Business School in Spain explains that: “This year, Africa is expected to grow more than any other region in the world and this growth should increase by 5% over the next few years.

“There are many investments for building infrastructure that will create the basis for further economic growth. The banking sector is becoming more sophisticated, and investment in energy and mining is increasing – and so the demand for local talent is also increasing.”

Economic growth in Africa

In fact, with The Economist listing seven African countries (Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Congo, Ghana, Zambia and Nigeria) amongst the world’s top ten fastest growing economies in the next five years, the demand for African managerial talent that Dávila notes is only set to increase.

“We have noticed that our students are becoming more interested in courses related to Africa, and there is an increasing demand for exchange programs with the region,” continues Dávila. “In terms of prospective students, the number of applications to IE has doubled [in recent years from] countries such as South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria.”

“Africa is an important market for business schools because it is a growing economy and it's becoming such a big energy and raw materials resource for other big economies such as China,” concludes Lisa Piguet, associate director of MBA admissions and marketing at IMD business school in Switzerland, before noting how the rapid economic development on the continent also means that African nationals witnessing this economic development first hand can be huge assets to MBA programs.

“Africa is changing so fast and this is something that needs to be shared in business schools. Having an African perspective can just enrich the entire classroom setting.”

Admissions representatives from INSEAD, IE Business School and IMD, as well as many other top business schools will be travelling to cities across Africa as part of the QS World MBA Tour. To register, or find out more visit the QS World MBA Tour on TopMBA.com.