The Ashinaga Africa Initiative began in 2014. Its mission is to contribute to sub-Saharan Africa’s expanding role in global development through increasing access to higher education abroad. We support orphaned students who are committed to returning home and initiating change, by providing access to full financial support to study at a university abroad (equivalent to an undergraduate degree). Ashinaga support covers tuition, accommodation, travel costs, and other necessary fees.
How to Apply
Announcement: Change in Application Process for Ashinaga Africa Initiative in Anglophone countries.
We would like to inform you about an important update on the application process for the Ashinaga Africa Initiative.
Starting from August 2024, we will no longer open applications for students in Anglophone countries. Instead, we will be partnering with selected high schools in each Anglophone country to identify and select eligible students. This strategic shift aims to streamline our selection process, ensuring that we can provide more targeted support and better guidance to applicants from the outset.
Applications will continue to be open for students in Francophone and Lusophone countries.
Francophone deadline: 31st August 2025 (12:00 GMT)
Lusophone deadline: 17th October 2025 (12:00 GMT)
Francophone Requirements (2026)
| Requirements (2026) | Applicants must:
Please note that Ashinaga does not support students wishing to study medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy or Law with an exception of international law. |
|---|---|
| Required Documents (2026) |
This is a list of the documents you will need to submit as part of your application:
|
| Eligible Countries (2026) |
Applicants must have citizenship and have completed/are completing high school in one of the following countries:
Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa), Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, Chad and Togo. |
| Selection Process (2026) | Applications for all countries will be assessed after the application deadline, and successful applicants will be invited to a final assessment. During this assessment, Ashinaga will conduct individual interviews to better understand the personal motivations and career goals in sub-Saharan Africa of the students. Students must bring all original academic documents and identification documents to the interview. Failure to do so may result in dismissal from the application process. |
How to Apply for the AAI
Applications for the AAI are only done online. If you have difficulties filling out our forms, please email us at admissions.fr@ashinaga.org.
There is no application fee, and you must never pay anyone to apply or to apply on your behalf.
- STEP1
- Gather all the required documents.
- STEP2
- Scan or take photos of the required documents in either PDF or JPG format.
- STEP3
- Apply online
- STEP4
- Application complete