What Honoris United Universities does

Honoris United Universities is the first and largest pan-African private higher education network, founded in 2017 and headquartered in London, UK. The network operates 16 member institutions across 7 African countries through 76 campuses in 26 cities, enrolling over 100,000 current students and claiming 1.2 million lives transformed since inception. Member institutions span a deliberate mix of disciplines and geographies: FEDISA, MANCOSA, REGENT Business School, Red & Yellow, and The Animation School in Southern Africa; Nile University of Nigeria; Honoris Educational Network in Mauritius; EMSI, EAC, and Université Mundiapolis in Morocco; and ESPRIT Group, Université Centrale, UPSAT, IMSET, AAC, and the Medical Simulation Center in Tunisia. The portfolio delivers 490+ degree programs across medicine, health sciences, engineering, IT, business, law, architecture, creative arts, fashion, media, political science, and education via contact, distance, and online modalities.

The network's core product surface combines academic programs with technology-enhanced learning environments including iLeadLAB (employability/makerspace), EMSI SmartiLab (IoT/smart city research lab), EMSI LPRI (industrial engineering research), the Honoris Medical Simulation Center (first in Africa), Honoris Collective Lab (Tunisia-based incubation), RedHub (enterprise development), MANCOSA iTeach Lab, IMSET ReeT (business simulation), and the DigiYouth Africa drone training program. The Honoris 21st Century Skills Certificate and Global Pan-African MBA (delivered with Regent Business School) anchor cross-network product offerings, while the Honoris Online Academy extends reach digitally. The business model is tuition-driven across multi-year accredited programs with quote-based pricing (e.g., 65,000 dirhams for the 18-month Global Pan-African MBA). Go-to-market operates through institutional admissions for individuals, B2B employer partnerships (1,000+) for graduate placement, and academic exchange partnerships (250+ universities in Europe, North America, and Asia) for student mobility and dual degrees.

Honoris is governed by an Honoris Academic Council and led by Group CEO Dr. Jonathan Louw, with a leadership team including Group Chief Growth and Strategy Officer Laura Kakon, plus regional CEOs and CXOs across functions. The network was originally launched in 2017 by Actis with a $275 million investment and underwent an ownership transition in September 2025 when Old Mutual Private Equity acquired a majority stake via Fund VI. Honoris is GDPR-compliant, recognized as a World Economic Forum New Champion (2025), and reports an 87% student employability rate with 86% value-for-money satisfaction in its 2025 Impact Report, which also discloses AI-driven transformation initiatives deployed across 41% of the network's activities.

Name

Honoris United Universities

Legal name

Honoris United Universities

Website

https://honoris.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Honoris United Universities is the first and largest pan-African private higher education network, operating 16 institutions across 7 African countries with 76 campuses serving 100,000+ students through 490+ degree programs in business, engineering, medicine, and creative arts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online International & Cross-Border Universities (Global/Transnational Providers) (EDAHALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Online Divisions of Traditional Universities (Hybrid/Extension) (EDAHALAB)

Keywords

• Pan-african higher education
• Private university network
• Degree program delivery
• Vocational and technical training
• Online and distance learning

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Programs: Revenue generated from tuition fees across 490+ degree programs including Medicine, Health Sciences, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Digital and Creative Arts, Fashion and Design, Media, Political Science, and Education. Programs offered through contact, distance, and online modalities across 16 member institutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Honoris United Universities operates the first and largest pan-African private higher education network, delivering 490+ degree programs across 16 member institutions in 7 African countries through contact, distance, and online modalities. Programs span Medicine, Health Sciences, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Creative Arts, Fashion and Design, Media, Political Science, and Education, supported by technology-enhanced learning environments including medical simulation, makerspaces, entrepreneurship hubs, and an online academy.

Product overview

Honoris United Universities is the first and largest pan-African private higher education network offering a platform of 16 multidisciplinary institutions across 7 African countries. The network provides over 490 degree programs spanning Medicine, Health Sciences, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Digital and Creative Arts, Fashion and Design, Media, Political Science, and Education. The core educational offerings are delivered through specialized institutions including FEDISA Fashion School, MANCOSA, REGENT Business School, Red & Yellow Creative School of Business, The Animation School, Nile University of Nigeria, and multiple institutions in Morocco and Tunisia. Supporting the academic programs are technology-enhanced learning environments including iLeadLAB (employability and makerspace), SmartiLab (IoT/innovation lab), LPRI (research lab), Medical Simulation Center, Collective Lab (incubation hub), RedHub (enterprise development), and iTeach Lab. The network also offers the 21st Century Skills Certificate, Global Pan-African MBA, and Honoris Online Academy for skill development and distance learning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Education for Impact: The network's educational philosophy and brand for impact-driven education initiatives
• iLeadLAB
• RedHub
• Honoris Collective Lab
• Honoris Medical Simulation Center
• 21st Century Skills Certificate

Products and services

• FEDISA Fashion School

Quantifiable outcome

• 87% student employability rate
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Total (France)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2019Partnership between ENIT, Université Centrale, and French oil company Total for student internships and recruitment of certain graduates.
• ESCP EuropeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2018Honoris signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding with ESCP Europe to expand transnational network of academic centers of excellence and support training of African leaders. The partnership enables student exchanges, joint programs, and collaborative academic initiatives.
• Women in Africa (WIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Honoris partnered with Women in Africa on Project 54 Program, which welcomes 54 female entrepreneurs from African countries annually for a two-day bootcamp. Since 2017, Honoris has helped train more than 216 female entrepreneurs and awarded 40+ scholarships. In 2021, a record 540 women entrepreneurs participated in the virtual bootcamp.
• Regent Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership enabling program sharing between South African and other African institutions. YKBS adapted and received accreditation for six programs from Regent Business School and MANCOSA.
• MANCOSAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership enabling distance learning program delivery across the network. MANCOSA programs were adapted by YKBS in Mauritius and other member institutions.
• Employer Partners (1,000+)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEcosystem of over 1,000 employer partners supporting student placement, internships, graduate employment, and curriculum input to ensure workforce readiness.
• International University Partners (250+)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerExclusive academic partnerships and exchange programs with more than 250 universities across Europe, North America, and Asia enabling student mobility and collaborative research.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Laureate Education: Largest global for-profit international higher education network — a direct strategic model comparator for Honoris's multi-country, multi-institution platform approach.
• Navitas: Global education provider with university pathway programs and partnerships; comparable as a PE-backed portfolio of higher-ed assets focused on international student mobility.
• Adtalem Global Education: US-listed for-profit higher education operator with international campuses; comparable in for-profit education governance, regulatory exposure, and cross-border delivery.

Direct peers

• Galileo Global Education: International network of private higher education institutions owned by a PE consortium; comparable cross-border platform model and PE-backed governance to Honoris.
• African Leadership University: Pan-African private higher education institution network operating in Mauritius, Rwanda, and online, targeting employability and leadership outcomes for African students — closely aligned with Honoris's mandate and student base.
• INSEEC Group: Private French higher-education network offering multidisciplinary programs internationally; similar multi-campus, multi-country private higher-education business model to Honoris.

Emerging players

• Coursera: Global online learning platform partnering with universities to deliver degree and credential programs — competes with Honoris's distance-learning brands (MANCOSA, Honoris Educational Network) for African online learners.
• ALX (African Leadership Experience): African Leadership Group's tech and entrepreneurship training arm offering short courses and career accelerators across Africa — competes with Honoris's distance-learning and skills-certificate programs for the same price-sensitive youth segment.
• 2U: Online program management partner that enables universities to deliver degree programs online — overlapping with Honoris Online Academy and MANCOSA's distance learning modality.

Regional players

• STADIO Holdings: JSE-listed South African private higher education group with multiple brands across contact and distance learning — direct regional competitor to MANCOSA, REGENT Business School, and Red & Yellow within Southern Africa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/honorisuni
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC6cNKYe2bBS2jNz00Sqo83Q?view_as=subscriber
• Facebookfacebook.com/HonorisUni
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/honorisuni
• Instagraminstagram.com/honorisuni

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Honoris United Universities