By now, the potential of e-learning to improve the quality of African education is widely known. In fact, the growth rate of self-paced (“learn at your own pace”) e-learning services is very high – upwards of 30% in certain nations and greater than 10% in many more.

Ambient Insight, a market research firm, has found the e-learning growth rate across sixteen African countries to be just over 15% from 2011-2016. Revenues will more than double – and even triple – over the next few years. Senegal leads all surveyed nations in terms of e-learning growth at 30% annual over the next few years. Fueling the rapid growth are a combination of support from governments, businesses, and universities.

Much of the increased e-learning spend can be attributed to government support for integrating technology into education. The digitization of academic content, growing online university enrollment, and corporate ICT training are also driving e-learning growth.

The abstract also reminds us that any research older than two years is already out-of-date and that no two nations are identical in their e-learning needs. What’s more, nearly half of e-learning providers didn’t exist before 2009. Expect even more as demand for e-learning grows in smaller markets and as larger markets scale pilot projects.

Source: “The Africa Market for Self-paced eLearning Products and Services: 2011-2016 Forecast and Analysis,” Sam S. Adkins, Ambient Insight, January 2013

P.S. Also cited are a handful of virtual universities with African operations:

• African Virtual University (with 31 higher education partners across the continent)
• University of South Africa (310,000 students, with many taking only courses)
• Campus Numerique Francophone de Dakar
• Indira Gandhi National Open University with virtual headquarters in Ethiopia
• Innorero University (Kenya)
• Virtual University of Uganda (launched in 2012)
• Open University of Kenya
• African University College of Communications in Ghana