Mission-Driven Learning in Sub-Saharan Africa’s Higher Education: Student Agency, Graduate Employability, and Job Creation at African Leadership University (2017–2024)

Abstract: Background: Traditional programmes across Sub-Saharan Africa have struggled to cultivate the agency and work-ready competences graduates need to meaningfully address the continent’s development priorities. Purpose: This study critically examines African Leadership University’s mission-driven, hybrid model, asking whether organising learning around personally defined “missions” rather than disciplinary majors measurably enhances student agency and post-graduation impact. Design/methodology/approach: A secondary, mixed-methods evaluation triangulated (i) ALU’s alumni-outcomes dataset covering 1,741 graduates from 2017-2024, (ii) continental statistics from UNESCO, Afrobarometer and the World Bank, and (iii) a systematic literature and policy review. Quantitative indicators were juxtaposed with thematic analysis of policy texts to assess alignment between institutional practice and regional reform agendas. Findings: ALU graduates achieved a 75% placement rate within six months (continental median ≈ 65 %), with 25–33 % founding ventures that collectively [i.e including students] generated more than 52,317 jobs—an estimated 121:1 job-creation multiplier. Ninety-five percent of employed alumni remained on the continent, countering “brain drain”. Qualitative evidence reveals heightened autonomy, intrinsic motivation and leadership competence attributable to a learning design that blends online mastery modules with mentored, real-world projects. Originality/value: By integrating Self-Determination Theory with the emergent Mission-Driven Learning Theory, the paper offers a falsifiable conceptual model in which mission clarity and mission-competence alignment jointly mediate the link between autonomy-supportive environments and graduate impact. The findings provide policy-relevant evidence that flexible accreditation “sandboxes” could mainstream mission-driven pedagogy and accelerate Africa’s skills revolution. For students who explicitly anchor their life missions in discipleship, success is defined as faithful stewardship and fruitfulness under God’s will rather than credential accumulation. Our analysis therefore treats alignment to a discerned vocation as both a motivational mechanism and a normative success criterion, consistent with Christian Scripture and with the model’s values-based element. Practical implications: Universities can embed mission-definition modules, mandatory internships and portfolio-based assessment to replicate key elements of the model, while governments should create regulatory space for purpose-centred curricular innovation.