Campus France activities in Africa

Institutions

Pays concerné(s)

Afrique

African students are very interested in coming to France. To develop their interest, Campus France is increasing the number of scholarship programmes and events promoting French higher education.

More and more African students, more and more sought after

With a population estimated today at 1.2 billion people, the population of Africa is expected to double by 2050, and more than 40% of Africans are less than 15 years old. Given the demographic situation, there are more and more countries seeking to attract and train African youth. This is in particular the case of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, which until recently took in very few African students.

France remains one of the leading destinations for African students, especially those from francophone countries for whom it is still the first choice. French institutes of higher education received nearly 62,000 students from sub-Saharan Africa in 2016, an increase of 10% compared to 2015. In total, they represent 20% of all foreign students in France.

62 000 students from sub-Saharan Africa study in France

Making it easier for African students to come to France

Campus France manages and coordinates several scholarship programmes aimed at students from sub-Saharan Africa to help them finance their stay in France:

the Agence Nationale des Bourses du Gabon (ANBG - Gabon National Scholarships Agency) scholarships, which assisted 1 000 Gabonese students in 2016;
scholarships offered by the Ethiopian Ministry of Higher Education, co-financed by the French Embassy in Ethiopia;
scholarships offered by the Sonangol Academy in Angola, with 77 awarded in 2016. The recipients were given linguistic training and will study in France for five years;
scholarships offered by the government of the Ivory Coast as part of the Contrat de Désendettement et de Développement (C2D - Debt Reduction and Development Contract), which enabled more than 200 Ivorian students to come to France to study in 2015.

Presenting French educational institutes to African students

Throughout the year, Campus France promotes French higher education in Africa, and in particular in sub-Saharan Africa. To do this, the agency participates in student fairs or official meetings and organises international tours.

African countries are thus receiving more and more events organised by Campus France, with the representatives of many French educational institutes invited. A few examples of events organised in 2017:

the second higher education in France fair in Madagascar in February;
the East African caravan in Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia in March;
the French Education Fair in Nigeria in February;
the 4th Franco-Ghanaian university encounters and the first student fair in Ghana in October;
the West African tour in Senegal and the Ivory Coast in October.

Etape au Kenya de la caravane Campus France de l'Est africain (2017)

Africa is also regularly showcased during Campus France events organised in France. In November 2016, Martial De-Paul Ikounga, the African Union Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, and the representatives of 40 African institutions were thus guests at the Campus France Meetings.

In addition, the first Africa: Destination Employment forum was held in November 2017 in Paris. It is dedicated to starting a career and to entrepreneurship for young Africans who are graduates of the French system of higher education.