University of Lusaka
University of Lusaka is a private Zambian higher education institution operating three Lusaka campuses and enrolling roughly 16,800 students across five schools (Business, Medicine and Health Sciences, Law, Technology and Social Sciences, and Postgraduate Studies), delivering undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes on-campus and via distance learning.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersLusaka, Zambia
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What University of Lusaka does
University of Lusaka (UNILUS) is a privately-held Zambian higher education institution headquartered in Lusaka, founded in 2007 by Prof. Pinalo Chifwanakeni as the Institute for Corporate Training and Applied Research (ICTAR) and officially registered as a university in January 2008. It operates three Lusaka campuses — Silverest (the flagship, opened in April 2026 by President Hakainde Hichilema with an attached 100-bed Teaching Hospital under construction), Mass Media (Pioneer), and Leopards Hill — across which it delivers undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral, and short-course programmes through five schools: the Pinalo Chifwanakeni Business School, the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the School of Technology and Social Sciences, the School of Law, and the School of Postgraduate Studies. Enrolment has scaled from 71 students at founding to approximately 16,800 today, with 10,000+ graduates to date, 300+ full-time faculty, 189 registered researchers, and 28 nationalities represented.
The academic portfolio spans more than 150 programmes, including professionally accredited medicine, pharmacy, nursing, biomedical sciences, and public health degrees; business, accounting, finance, banking, insurance, and actuarial programmes; law (LLB and a broad LLM catalogue); and technology programmes in computer science, cybersecurity, and IT. Programmes are delivered full-time on campus, part-time via blended learning, and at a distance through a Moodle-based e-learning environment with separate undergraduate, postgraduate, and online-exam portals, supplemented by an integrated plagiarism checker, the Astria Digital Library (e-journal databases), and a Koha-backed library management system. The PRICED Centre supports research, innovation, consultancy, and customised corporate training.
Revenue is generated primarily through recurring tuition fees (ZMW for domestic and SADC students, USD for non-SADC international students), per-semester accommodation fees across five housing tiers (ZMW 7,300–28,000), one-time application fees (ZMW 200), and transaction-based examination and administrative fees for transcripts, exemptions, deferments, and graduation clearance. Ancillary revenue streams include bespoke corporate and government training (clients cited include Zambia Government ministries, Standard Chartered Bank, Cavmont Bank, Transparency International Zambia, and SABOT Zambia Ltd) and accommodation. The university has secured grant and investment funding including a USD 20 million ZDA Investment Licence for Silverest Campus development, NIH registration, NSTC research grants, an AU-EU HAQAA2 capacity-building grant, and a Bloomberg Mayors Challenge grant (with Lusaka City Council).
University of Lusaka firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- University of Lusaka
- Legal name
- University of Lusaka
- Website
- https://unilus.ac.zm
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- University of Lusaka is a private Zambian higher education institution operating three Lusaka campuses and enrolling roughly 16,800 students across five schools (Business, Medicine and Health Sciences, Law, Technology and Social Sciences, and Postgraduate Studies), delivering undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes on-campus and via distance learning.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
University of Lusaka industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education
- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary) (EDAHABAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Online Graduate Schools (Master’s & Doctoral Programs) (EDAHALAD)
Keywords
Where University of Lusaka is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lusaka
- HQ country
- Zambia
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices3 records
Markets served
University of Lusaka business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Tuition Fees: Tuition fees charged to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Local and SADC students pay fees in ZMW while non-SADC international students pay in USD. Registration requires minimum 50% deposit.
- Accommodation Fees: On-campus accommodation fees per semester ranging from K7,300 to K28,000 depending on room type and occupancy
- Application Fees: One-time application processing fee of ZMW 200 for admissions
- Examination and Administrative Fees: Fees for transcripts, exemption requests, programme deferments, graduation clearance, and other administrative services
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Self-contained single room accommodation |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Self-contained double room accommodation |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Ordinary double room accommodation |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Ordinary four-person room accommodation |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Ordinary six-person room accommodation |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Medical examination fee |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Application fee |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
University of Lusaka product offering
Product offeringCore offering
University of Lusaka is a private higher education institution delivering undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degree programs across five schools (Postgraduate Studies, Technology & Social Sciences, Pinalo Chifwanakeni Business School, Medicine & Health Sciences, and Law) to approximately 16,800 students. Programs are offered through on-campus, part-time, and distance learning modes and supported by Moodle-based e-learning, a student portal, plagiarism checker, Astria Digital Library, science laboratories, and a teaching hospital under construction.
Product overview
University of Lusaka (UNILUS) is a private university in Zambia offering a diverse portfolio of academic programs across five schools: School of Postgraduate Studies, School of Technology & Social Sciences, Pinalo Chifwanakeni Business School, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, and School of Law. The institution delivers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs through multiple study modes (full-time, part-time, distance learning) supported by digital platforms including the Student Portal, Moodle-based E-Learning Platform, Plagiarism Checker, and Astria Digital Library. The university operates across three campuses (Silverest, Mass Media, and Leopards Hill) with facilities including a Teaching Hospital, sports complex, and library services. The program portfolio spans business administration, law, medicine, health sciences, technology, social sciences, and various specialized LLM programs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Bachelor of Science in Banking and Finance
Quantifiable outcome
- From 71 students in 2007 to 16,800 students enrolled currently
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use University of Lusaka
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
University of Lusaka technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
University of Lusaka partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Old Dominion UniversitycoreInternational research collaboration and academic partnership with Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, USA for joint research activities and knowledge sharing.
- University Business Academy in Novi SadminorInternational academic partnership for research collaboration and student exchange opportunities.
- Baskent UniversityminorInternational partnership with Baskent University for academic collaboration and research activities.
- Marwadi UniversityminorPartnership with Marwadi University in India for academic exchange and research collaboration.
- Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)coreResearch partnership with IPA for conducting impact evaluations and poverty-related research in Zambia.
- Water Resources Management AuthorityminorMoU for research collaboration on water resources and environmental management research.
- Ministry of EnergyminorGovernment partnership for energy research and policy development collaboration.
- Stellenbosch UniversitycoreInternational partnership with Stellenbosch University for academic collaboration and research exchange.
- Riga Technical UniversityminorInternational partnership for academic exchange and joint programmes.
- University of South CarolinacoreInternational academic partnership with University of South Carolina for research and educational collaboration.
- Dongbei University of Finance and EconomicsminorInternational partnership with Dongbei University of Finance and Economics for academic exchange.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves12 records
Expansion highlights7 records
University of Lusaka competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Zambia Catholic University: Zambian private university offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs with international student recruitment; comparable as a domestic private higher-education competitor for the same Lusaka-based student pool.
- UNICAF: Online higher-education access platform headquartered in Zambia that partners with UK and African universities to deliver distance programs; overlaps directly with UNILUS' Moodle-based distance learning cohort.
- Texila American University Zambia: Zambia-based private university with international affiliations and a strong health-sciences focus; comparable as a competing health-program-heavy private institution with a similar recruitment footprint.
- Cavendish University Zambia: Private Zambian university founded in 2004, similarly privately-held, multi-program, multi-campus, recruiting local and international students across business, law, health and technology — directly comparable on positioning, target market and operating model.
Regional players
- USIU-Africa: Private multi-country university in East Africa offering undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs with international student recruitment; comparable as an African private university pursuing a similar regional growth model.
- Daystar University: Private Kenyan university with broad program portfolio and strong communication, social sciences and graduate offerings; comparable as a similar-sized East African private university targeting both local and international students.
- University of Zambia (UNZA): Zambia's flagship public university and the dominant incumbent for domestic postgraduate and medical training; competing institution for the same Zambian tertiary cohort despite different pricing.
- Mulungushi University: Public university in Zambia with multi-campus operations and broad program offerings; competes for many of the same domestic students though as a public institution with different pricing dynamics.
Emerging players
- Africa Leadership University (ALU): Pan-African private university delivering undergraduate and graduate programs across multiple African countries; comparable as an emerging regional private player pursuing international student recruitment and differentiated program design.
Broad incumbents
- University of South Africa (UNISA): Africa's largest open-distance learning university, serving hundreds of thousands of students including across SADC; competes structurally with UNILUS' distance-learning programs as a dominant incumbent.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
University of Lusaka social profiles
Digital presenceUniversity of Lusaka financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
University of Lusaka leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
University of Lusaka funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
University of Lusaka M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about University of Lusaka
What does University of Lusaka do?
University of Lusaka is a private higher education institution delivering undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degree programs across five schools (Postgraduate Studies, Technology & Social Sciences, Pinalo Chifwanakeni Business School, Medicine & Health Sciences, and Law) to approximately 16,800 students. Programs are offered through on-campus, part-time, and distance learning modes and supported by Moodle-based e-learning, a student portal, plagiarism checker, Astria Digital Library, science laboratories, and a teaching hospital under construction.
Is University of Lusaka a public or private company?
University of Lusaka is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was University of Lusaka founded?
University of Lusaka was founded in 2007. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is University of Lusaka based?
University of Lusaka is headquartered in Lusaka, Zambia, in the Africa region.
How does University of Lusaka make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Tuition Fees are the primary driver. The others are accommodation Fees, application Fees and examination and Administrative Fees.
Who are University of Lusaka's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Zambia Catholic University, UNICAF, Texila American University Zambia and Cavendish University Zambia. Regional players are USIU-Africa, Daystar University, University of Zambia (UNZA) and Mulungushi University. Africa Leadership University (ALU) is listed as an emerging player. University of South Africa (UNISA) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does University of Lusaka have an API?
No public API is recorded for University of Lusaka.
What industry is University of Lusaka in?
University of Lusaka's product category is Higher Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHABAA, Comprehensive Doctoral Research Universities (Multi-Disciplinary), with a secondary code of EDAHALAD, Online Graduate Schools (Master’s & Doctoral Programs). Its NAICS code is 6113 and its SIC code is 8200.