Expansion versus contribution of higher education in Africa: University–industry linkages in Mozambique from companies’ perspective

As elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), higher education (HE) has expanded rapidly in Mozambique since 1990s, driven by high demand for university diplomas, by the international policy shift towards repositioning HE into the heart of SSA’s development and by government assumption on the positive contribution of HE to innovation and socio-economic development. However, this assumption is often taken for granted and hardly backed by evidence. While expansion is relevant, it does not, per se, assure HE’s socio-economic contribution. Drawing from a survey conducted in 70 top-ranked companies, this article critically questions this assumption, by examining the patterns of university–industry linkages (UILs) from the perspective of firms. The focus on companies’ perspective aims to extend previous research which has only targeted the universities’ perspective, and to understand the way one dimension of external innovation environment—the companies’ profile—shapes UILs and the potential socio-economic contribution of HE in SSA.