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Five African business schools are among 286 institutions globally that offer the world’s best Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree programmes, according to QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a major ranking provider of analytics and other insights on the higher education sector worldwide.

In the QS Global MBA Rankings 2022 that were released on 9 September, the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and the AUC School of Business at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, were ranked in the category of 111-120 globally, but tied in the first position in Africa.

Wits Business School at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa was the third-best business school in Africa, listed in the category 151-200, while Lagos Business School at the University of Lagos in Nigeria and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Alexandria in Egypt completed the list of the top business schools in Africa. They were placed in the category of 251+.

Globally, three schools in the United States took the top three positions. Stanford Graduate School of Business at the University of Stanford was named the world’s number one MBA programme for the second consecutive year, while the second slot was taken by Harvard Business School, and third by Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Other business schools that were among the top 10 included HEC Paris, France; MIT Sloan School of Management in the US; London School of Business and INSEAD at Fontainebleau in France, in that order. IE Business School in Madrid, Spain; Columbia Business School in the US and IESE Business School in Spain were also in the leading group.

Specialised masters degrees

But, whereas researchers at QS Quacquarelli Symonds had ranked the strongest business schools worldwide that offered full-time MBAs, they also classified five specialised masters degrees that are commonly offered in most business schools globally.

According to Simona Bizzozero, the director of communications at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the QS Business Masters Rankings 2022 portfolio evaluated five offerings: masters in business analytics, masters in marketing, masters in management, masters in finance and masters in supply chain management.

In this aspect, the Mediterranean School of Business in Tunisia was the only business school in Africa which was ranked for its masters in business analytics. It was placed in the category 91-100.

Wits Business School’s masters in management programmes was in number 57 globally, while similar programmes at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport and Rabat Business School were both in the group of 151+.

AUC Business School’s masters in finance programme was placed in the 121-130 category, while that of the Mediterranean School of Business was in the group of 131-140.

Similar finance programmes offered at Morocco’s Rabat School of Business and the First Public Business School, or Groupe ISCAE Casablanca, were both in the category of 151+.

The best masters programme in marketing in Africa was offered by the Mediterranean School of Business which was in the category of 61-70, while those offered at Rabat School of Business and Groupe ISCAE were placed in the 101+ group.

According to the QS Business Masters Rankings 2022, the masters in supply chain management programme at the Mediterranean School of Business was the most highly ranked degree in the five selected business studies options in Africa as it was in position 47th globally, while two similar programmes offered at Groupe ISCAE and Rabat School of Business were in the category of 51+.

Each of the business masters rankings was compiled according to institutional programme performance in five key metrics, namely, employability, entrepreneurship and alumni outcomes, return on investment, thought leadership, and class and faculty diversity.

According to Nunzio Quacquarelli, the chief executive officer at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the objective of the QS Business Masters Rankings 2022 was to respond to the increasing interest in various disciplines by providing independent and trusted comparative data to the world’s students.

“In this way, we established that a masters degree in supply chain management follows data analytics, marketing, finance, and management as being a highly desirable qualification for employers, and a sensible next study step for those wishing to elevate their career to new heights,” said Quacquarelli in a briefing on 9 September.

Demand expected to grow

The importance of ranking of business schools that offer MBAs and other business-related courses is that demand for those degrees has steadily increased, both from employers and students.

According to Jack Moran, a senior public relations manager and a member of the rankings steering committee at QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the number of students who do MBAs and other masters degrees in the five key business studies options is expected to increase in years ahead.

The issue is that companies around the world are expected to hire managers and other business executives who can optimise and innovate their supply chains in greater numbers, while those seeking to engage in e-commerce start-ups would be looking for skills and knowledge from some of the best business schools and programmes in order to succeed.

But, in the context of the African region, the picture is not all that rosy, especially in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where, outside South Africa, only Lagos Business School was ranked.