What Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarship Programme 2027/2028 actually covers.
The Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarship Programme funds African students to take the MBA at the University of Oxford's Said Business School, with up to three awards available for 2027/2028. It is one of the smallest and most competitive scholarships in the Foundation's portfolio, and it targets a different profile from the Foundation's undergraduate and general master's schemes: candidates are expected to be on a leadership trajectory in business, policy or the social sector and to be ready for a demanding one-year MBA.
The funding covers full course fees, which at MBA level is a substantial sum, plus a living costs grant of at least GBP 21,805 for the year. Around that sits the AfOx infrastructure: tailored training programmes, networking opportunities and support services that continue before, during and after the degree. AfOx, the Africa Oxford Initiative, maintains a scholar community across the university, so awardees are not isolated within their own cohort.
Eligibility is defined tightly. Applicants must be African citizens ordinarily resident in Africa, must not already hold a master's degree, and must be able to demonstrate a commitment to Africa's development. The bar on prior master's degrees is significant for MBA applicants specifically, since many candidates at this career stage have already taken a postgraduate qualification and would be excluded.
The application mechanism is worth understanding clearly because it differs from most scholarships. There is no separate scholarship form. Candidates submit an ordinary MBA application through the standard Oxford process by 6 January 2027, and shortlisted candidates are then approached for interview. In practice this means the entire competitive burden sits on the MBA application itself, and an applicant cannot compensate for a weak admissions file with a strong scholarship essay. Prospective candidates should therefore treat the Said Business School admissions requirements, not the scholarship criteria, as the primary hurdle, and should begin preparing admissions tests and references well ahead of the January deadline.
Who can apply.
Open to masters applicants seeking to study in United Kingdom.
Open to applicants from across the African continent. Confirm specific nationality eligibility on the official application page.
Every academic discipline is accepted.
This programme does not restrict by field. Research proposals across humanities, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine are all accepted.
From here to submitted.
Scholar Africa helps you discover, shortlist, and track. The application itself is submitted on the provider's site.
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Save itAdd this to your shortlist so we can recommend similar scholarships and remind you of the deadline.
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Prepare your documentsMost providers ask for the same set - transcripts, references, a personal statement, ID. Use the checklist below to track progress across all your applications.
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Apply on the provider's siteSubmit on the provider's site before January 6, 2027 · 118 days left.
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Track the outcomeAdd to your tracker so you can update the status as the provider responds (shortlisted, interview, decision).
Document checklist
Checks are local to this device - they're not stored. Always confirm exact requirements on the provider's official application page.
What we checked, when we checked it.
Scholar Africa runs a link-liveness check on every listing before it goes live and an admin manually reviews every scholarship submitted by providers. Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarship Programme 2027/2028 has been reviewed and verified by our team. Five deeper checks (contact, organisation, winners, third-party, formal audit) are on the roadmap.
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Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.