South African firm targets new East African markets after Makini school takeover

Horace Mpanza. [Courtesy]

South African education provider Advtech is planning a regional expansion of Kenya’s Makini School, targeting two to three new East African markets as part of an ambitious strategy to double student enrollment in the medium term.

This comes as the firm eyes entry into Kenya’s higher education sector, with its university brand, Rosebank International, scouting for opportunities in Kenya and the region.

In expanding the Makini brand to other countries, the firm said it would capitalise on Makini’s strong presence in Kenya but also a growing appeal for the brand beyond Kenyan borders, citing strong demand from parents in other markets seeking value-driven and high-quality education.

“Makini is an exceptionally strong brand with deep resonance in Kenya, but we are also attracting people from outside the country,” said Horace Mpanza, regional managing director at Advtech International, overseeing operations in Kenya, Botswana and Ethiopia.

“A brand like Makini has immense potential to scale regionally, and we are actively evaluating new locations. We have explored two to three different opportunities to open other Makini schools.”

The regional push is part of Advtech's broader growth trajectory in East Africa, driven by steady enrollment numbers across its existing campuses.

The company has been growing its footprint in Kenya through acquisitions and investments in existing school infrastructure, with Kenya becoming one of Advtech's key growth markets outside South Africa. The group says demand for its dual curricula offering – Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and the international Cambridge system – is underpinning its growth.

Advtech entered Kenya in 2018 through the acquisition of Makini and the introduction of Crawford. The latter increased student capacity by more than 40 per cent last year in a renewed expansion drive that also saw the company make new acquisitions, including Regis, as well as starting a major refurbishment of some of the old Makini Schools.

“Being part of a bigger group also means that there are better governance structures and also provides a safety net. Because if you look at our size standalone, there's no way that we could invest in improving quality to the level that we have done. We've been able to do that because of being part of a larger group, being able to leverage the strength and resources of the group,” said Mpanza.

In the six months to June this year, Advtech’s revenue grew by eight per cent to 5.06 billion rands (Sh41 billion) compared to 4.68 billion rands (Sh37.9 billion) last year. The firm reported a 13 per cent increase in net profit for the half year to June 2026 to Sh5.8 billion.

The firm’s Rest of Africa division, where Kenya falls, reported an eight per cent revenue increase to 303 million rand (Sh2.5 billion) while operating profit increased by 11 per cent to 91 million rand (Sh7367.6 million) from 83 million rand (Sh672.8 million).

The growth in the rest of Africa division, the company said, was “driven by strong enrollment growth and the inclusion of the Regis Runda acquisition in Nairobi”.

Horace said the company has a target to increase revenues for the rest of Africa division to account for 20 per cent of its revenues from the current contribution of about eight per cent. This is in comparison to five per cent that the division contributed in 2022.

“Our ambition is that 20 per cent of Advtech revenue should be coming from outside the borders of South Africa. It is not a fixed figure, and it will continuously shift as the market evolves and we are focusing on quality to drive this shift,” he said.

“While we are not the main contributors in terms of profitability, we are a stable side of the business which is growing at a rapid rate.”

At the same time, the firm is considering entry into Kenya’s higher education with plans to introduce its Rosebank University.

“Rosebank International, which was launched last year in Ghana, is currently exploring opportunities even in the East African markets,” he said.