As the evidence from this study shows, Africa, in particular sub-Saharan Africa, comprises some of the poorest nations in the world and therefore desperately needs strong higher education systems that can assist in its rapid development. It is widely acknowledged that higher education plays a key role in the economic, scientific, social and human development of any country, and that the economically strongest nations are those with the best performing higher education sectors. Higher education, as the producer of knowledge and knowledge workers, is assuming an even more important role with the realisation that knowledge, not natural resources, is the key to Africa’s sustainable development.