By Robert Ebo HINSON (Prof)
In the evolving global knowledge economy, marketing has emerged as a non-negotiable necessity for university sustainability — and nowhere is this more urgent than in Africa.
Faced with dwindling government subventions, intensifying global competition, and the rising demands of a market-oriented higher education sector, African universities must embrace marketing not merely as a communication function, but as a strategic enabler of institutional survival, relevance, and growth.
Universities: Engines of Societal Advancement under pressure
Globally, universities contribute to national transformation by producing skilled graduates, generating knowledge through research, and serving as think tanks for national development.
These institutions carry out the tripartite mandate of teaching, research, and service — roles that are indispensable to the social and economic advancement of any society (Kotler & Fox, 1995).
However, in Africa, many universities now operate under significant financial duress. Several are mired in debt, and paradoxically, some business schools — the very arms expected to demonstrate profitability — are struggling to break even.
The root cause of this crisis, as I argue here, lies in the chronic underutilisation of marketing. Marketing — when understood and executed strategically — equips universities to attract and retain students, secure donor support, shape compelling institutional identities, and compete effectively in the global academic marketplace (Mogaji, Maringe & Hinson, 2020a).
The Role of Marketing in University Viability
Marketing in higher education involves aligning institutional offerings with the evolving needs and preferences of diverse stakeholders: students, parents, alumni, faculty, governments, and donors.
This encompasses not just communication but strategy — designing products (programmes), pricing, student engagement processes, experience design, and brand positioning.
As Sprout Social notes, university marketing departments today must not only attract new students but also energise internal communications, foster community morale, and promote stakeholder engagement.
A market-propelled mission ensures that the university remains responsive and relevant. Marketing, in this respect, does not detract from academic excellence; it amplifies it by ensuring that value is communicated clearly and continuously to external stakeholders.
Learning from global precedents
Universities in the global North have long embraced marketing to drive institutional growth. Harvard University’s record-breaking fundraising campaign, which exceeded its US$6.5 billion target by raising US$9.6 billion, demonstrates what strategic marketing can accomplish.
Similarly, Loughborough University’s creative #LboroFamily campaign built a sense of identity and emotional connection with new entrants — a model that universities in Africa can emulate.
Meanwhile, countries like the UK have institutionalised international education strategies, aiming to grow education exports to £35 billion and increase international student enrolment to 600,000 by 2030 (University World News, 2019).
Unfortunately, comparable policy frameworks are conspicuously absent in most African education ministries, revealing a strategic blind spot.
A Marketing deficit in African Education Policy
The lack of marketing thinking in African higher education policy is evident. For example, Ghana’s Universities Bill — which sparked considerable academic protest — focused largely on governance arrangements but said nothing of marketing, internationalisation, or innovation.
This policy vacuum is symptomatic of a deeper issue: many accreditation boards and higher education councils across the continent have yet to formally recognise marketing as a strategic pillar of university governance (Mogaji, Maringe & Hinson, 2020b).
Without a deliberate marketing strategy, many African universities risk collapsing under the weight of inefficiencies and global irrelevance. They must balance their public service mission with the operational demands of running large, competitive, and complex organisations.
The urgent case for marketization in African universities
The notion of “marketisation” in African higher education is often met with resistance. Critics argue that universities should resist the temptation to become “too commercial.” While these concerns are valid, they often stem from a misunderstanding of what marketisation entails.
Marketization, when decolonized and ethically grounded, is not about commodifying education. Rather, it is about aligning institutional behaviour with the expectations of those who fund, consume, and benefit from higher education (Mogaji, Maringe & Hinson, 2020c).
Universities are increasingly being asked to justify their value — and marketing is the language through which that value is communicated.
Mogaji et al. (2020d) further argue that marketisation in Africa must be context-sensitive, avoiding wholesale adoption of Euro-American models. Instead, African universities must build homegrown marketing models that reflect local cultures, resource realities, and educational aspirations.
Competing in a Globalised Higher Education Marketplace
In Ghana alone, global players such as China Europe International Business School, Lancaster University, and Webster University now operate physical campuses.
These institutions offer attractive packages, strong brands, and globally networked degrees — putting pressure on local universities to up their game.
If African universities are to thrive in this environment, they must adopt and adapt the university marketing mix: product (academic offerings), price (tuition and value), place (delivery mechanisms), promotion (branding and messaging), people (staff and faculty quality), physical evidence (campus environment), and process (student journey and service delivery) (Kotler & Fox, 1995; Mogaji et al., 2020e).
In this regard, product management — the process of continuously assessing and refining academic programmes, infrastructure, and services — becomes vital. Universities must conduct periodic audits of their offerings to ensure relevance to both student aspirations and industry demands.
Reframing the African University
The time for romanticising the non-commercial identity of the African university is over. The sector must evolve. While universities should never lose their soul to market logic, neither should they ignore the financial and reputational implications of poor branding, unresponsive programme design, and disconnected stakeholder engagement.
The future of higher education in Africa hinges on a dual identity: academic excellence and organisational agility. Marketing serves as the bridge between these worlds — helping universities remain both socially impactful and economically sustainable.
Conclusion
The scholarship on African higher education marketing is unequivocal: strategic marketing must become central to the governance, funding, and development of universities across the continent (Mogaji, Maringe & Hinson, 2020f). Without this shift, many African universities will remain underfunded, underperforming, and under-recognised.
The institutions that will lead Africa into the future will be those that not only generate knowledge, but also understand how to position, promote, and sustain that knowledge in a competitive world.
References
- Kotler, P., & Fox, K. F. A. (1995). Strategic Marketing for Educational Institutions (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall.
- Mogaji, E., Maringe, F., & Hinson, R. E. (2020a). Strategic Marketing of Higher Education in Africa. Routledge.
- Mogaji, E., Maringe, F., & Hinson, R. E. (2020b). Marketisation in Higher Education in Africa: New Directions for a Decolonising Continent.
- Mogaji, E., Maringe, F., & Hinson, R. E. (2020c). Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for Higher Education Marketing. In Strategic Marketing of Higher Education in Africa (pp. 1–12). Routledge.
- Mogaji, E., Maringe, F., & Hinson, R. E. (2020d). Higher Education Marketing in Africa. Routledge.
- Mogaji, E., Maringe, F., & Hinson, R. E. (2020e). Understanding the Market in Higher Education in Africa. In Strategic Marketing of Higher Education in Africa (pp. 3–16). Routledge.
- Mogaji, E., Maringe, F., & Hinson, R. E. (2020f). Marketing and Brand Communications in African Higher Education: A Research Agenda. In Strategic Marketing of Higher Education in Africa.
- Peattie, K., & Crane, A. (2005). Green Marketing: Legend, Myth, Farce or Prophesy? Qualitative Market Research, 8(4), 357–370.
- University World News. (2019). UK launches new international education strategy. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190318201709793
- Sprout Social. (n.d.). Higher Education Marketing Guide. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/higher-education-marketing/
