THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA (UNZA)

What THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA (UNZA) does

The University of Zambia (UNZA) is Zambia's largest public university, a government state entity serving prospective and enrolled postgraduate students through an integrated digital service platform. Its core technology offering is the Postgraduate Student Information System (SIS), a web-based portal built on a CakePHP framework that manages the full postgraduate lifecycle: course registration with multi-step HOD/Assistant Dean approval workflows, automated fee calculation by study mode/programme/year/sponsor/nationality, accommodation management, and graduation clearance with multi-departmental tracking. The SIS integrates directly with ZANACO bank branches via Bill Master forms for fee collection and reconciliation, and uses Google OAuth for single sign-on authentication. A separate Online Application Portal (OAP) extends the platform to prospective students for admission applications and status tracking.

UNZA's business model is tuition-funded with annual billing cadences; students must pay a minimum of 37.5% of tuition plus all other fees at any ZANACO branch before registration is confirmed. Revenue is supplemented by government allocations as a state institution. The primary customer segment is postgraduate students (masters, PhD) with prospective applicants as a secondary funnel. Distribution is hybrid: self-service online portals serve as the primary digital channel, with in-person escalation through the UNZA Customer Service Centre, Student Finance office, Academic Office, Centre for ICTs (CICT), Dean of Student Affairs, and individual school offices. No private equity, venture capital, or M&A activity is associated with UNZA given its public university status; it operates exclusively within the Government of Zambia's regulatory and funding framework.

Name

THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA (UNZA)

Legal name

The University of Zambia

Website

https://pgonline.unza.zm

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UNZA is Zambia's largest public university, operating a web-based Postgraduate Student Information System (CakePHP) that manages course registration, fee processing via ZANACO bank, accommodation, and graduation clearance for postgraduate students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Higher Education SIS & Campus Management Systems (EDAFAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gradebook, Transcripts, Credits & Academic Records Management (EDAFAEAG), Admissions, Placement Testing & Progression Management for Pathways (EDAIAJAL)

Keywords

• Higher education
• Postgraduate programs
• University education
• Student information systems
• Academic services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lusaka

HQ country

Zambia

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Academic Fees: Students pay tuition fees calculated based on their study mode (distance or on-campus), year of study, programme of study, and nationality. Fees must meet minimum threshold (currently 37.5% of tuition plus all other fees) for registration completion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

The University of Zambia provides postgraduate higher education (masters and doctoral programmes) and related student lifecycle services. Its Postgraduate Student Information System (SIS) v2.1.Revision is a web-based portal that enables online course registration, automated fee calculation, payment processing via ZANACO bank, accommodation management, and graduation clearance for enrolled postgraduate students. The Online Application Portal (OAP) supports prospective students applying for admission and tracking application status.

Product overview

The University of Zambia operates two interconnected online systems for postgraduate education: the Postgraduate Student Information System (SIS) v2.1.Revision — a multi-module portal handling student authentication, course registration, fee management, accommodation, and graduation clearance — and the Online Application Portal (OAP), which enables prospective students to submit applications and track admission status. Both systems are accessible via pgonline.unza.zm and integrate with Google OAuth for authentication and ZANACO bank for fee payments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Postgraduate Student Information System (SIS) Web-based portal for enrolled postgraduate students at the University of Zambia to log in, register for courses, view automatically calculated fees, generate Bill Master forms for payment at ZANACO bank branches, track graduation clearance, manage accommodation information, and print confirmation slips. Features multi-step registration workflow with status transitions (Awaiting Student Input → Awaiting Approval → Awaiting Payment → Registered).
• Online Application Portal (OAP) Self-service online portal for prospective students to apply for postgraduate admission to the University of Zambia and check the status of their applications. Accessible via the pgonline.unza.zm domain.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ZANACO (Zambia National Commercial Bank)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorZANACO bank serves as the primary payment channel for student tuition and fees. Students receive Bill Master forms from the Student Information System and make payments at any ZANACO branch. Payments are then reconciled back to student accounts in the SIS.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Kuali: Open-source higher education administrative software (Student, Financial Aid, Research) built collaboratively by universities; relevant peer for UNZA's digitally-transforming public university context and open/scalable approach.
• Moodle: Widely adopted open-source LMS used by many African universities; complementary rather than directly competing, but indicative of the same low-cost, customizable technology philosophy that shapes UNZA's SIS approach.
• OpenSIS: Open-source K-12 and higher education SIS; comparable as a low-cost customizable student information platform targeting institutions with limited budgets, similar to UNZA's resource-constrained context.

Broad incumbents

• Ellucian: Leading global provider of higher education SIS and ERP solutions (Banner, Colleague, PowerCampus) used by thousands of universities worldwide; comparable to UNZA's SIS as a campus management platform, though at far greater scale and commercially funded.
• PowerSchool: Large-scale education technology provider with strong SIS capabilities; while primarily focused on K-12, its unified classroom and operations platform is broadly comparable to UNZA's integrated student lifecycle system.
• Workday Student: Cloud-native student information system covering the full student lifecycle from admissions to alumni; comparable to UNZA's SIS in lifecycle coverage but built on a modern enterprise cloud platform rather than a custom PHP stack.
• Anthology (formerly Blackboard): Major higher education technology provider offering SIS, LMS, and student success solutions; comparable to UNZA as a comprehensive campus technology platform, though globally scaled and serving multiple institutions.
• Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions: Enterprise higher education SIS from Oracle covering student records, admissions, financial aid, and registration — directly comparable functional scope to UNZA's Postgraduate SIS, but targeting large institutions with substantial IT budgets.

Regional players

• Tribal Group: Provider of student management systems (e.g., Tribal SITS) predominantly for UK and international higher education institutions; comparable in SIS functionality though more established in UK/EU than sub-Saharan Africa.

Direct peers

• Jenzabar: Higher education SIS and ERP provider serving small-to-mid-size institutions, including a notable presence in African and emerging markets; closely comparable to UNZA's SIS in institutional size and customer profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-university-of-zambia-unza

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA (UNZA)