Meeting the demand is not just about providing the places for learners seeking HE opportunities. Dr Halfond says that those international students who meet high financial costs to attend a top level residential US or UK university represent just 1 or 2% of their country’s learners. What about the others?

Regardless of grades, talent and drive, the cost of global relocation, in addition to the viability of taking time away from work, is simply not an option for many learners. And when entrepreneurs stay where they are, it has positive knock-on effects on their local economy.

The Global Entrepreneurship Index, 2018, for example, estimates that the 3% GEI score improvement on 2017’s scores could have added USD$7 trillion to global GDP because institutions that support entrepreneurs also positively impact the economy as a whole. Sub-Saharan Africa’s score improved on last year’s GEI score by 1.5%, with Botswana leading the field in the region. The report draws a clear link between access to HE and improved outcomes for entrepreneurs, naming lack of access to education and skills that support careers in entrepreneurship as the region’s main challenge. It recommends a boost in startup skills as the fastest way to positively impact the region’s scores.

“Traditional HE requires relocation, it requires credible resources, and it requires abandoning your country in a sense, which means family, your friends and your occupational opportunities in that country,” says Dr Halfond. “Distance learning has gained acceptance in the United States – where one out of every six students is pursuing a degree exclusively online. And this acceptance is likely to spread throughout the world as well, as learners and employers appreciate that learning online can be an effective alternative to relocating to a residential university.”

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