KMR Holding Pédagogique, a state-recognised higher education platform in Francophone Africa, has acquired Université Internationale de Casablanca (UIC) from Laureate Education, Inc., the world’s largest global network of higher education institutions, subject to regulatory approvals. 

The acquisition is part of KMR’s mission to deliver affordable, quality higher education and strong employability for its students.

DPI, which is a major shareholder, has supported KMR during the acquisition of UIC from Laureate, alongside KMR’s founder Mohamed Kabbadj and African SME and mid-cap PE firm Mediterrania Capital Partners.

KMR operates renowned Universite Privee de Marrakech (UPM), which was awarded the prestigious Reconnaissance accreditation by the Moroccan State.

DPI¸ which has US$1.1bn AUM, has helped grow the platform significantly since its initial investment in 2014, both in Morocco and sub-Saharan Africa. Since then, KMR has almost quadrupled its student numbers and expanded its campuses and the degrees offered to students significantly.

Following the acquisition, KMR now serves over 7,500 students across four state-of-the-art campuses in Casablanca, Marrakech and Dakar, with seven fields of expertise tailored to both country and employer needs; medicine & health sciences, engineering, business & management, hospitality, art & culture, sport and executive programs.

The expanded KMR platform offers African students international exposure through a network of over 240+ reputable universities and higher education institutions globally, and degrees with multi-campus curriculums including courses in North and sub-Saharan Africa and Europe. It has exemplary employability rates (80% within three months of graduation and 100% within six months), and state diploma equivalent qualifications. 

Sofiane Lahmar, Partner at DPI, said: “Our investment philosophy is to invest in growth industries that serve the emerging middle class in Africa. In line with this, we invested in KMR in 2014 seeing significant growth potential for the company and the higher education sector in Africa, and have increased our investment now as we continue to believe in further growth to come.”

Mohamed Kabbadj, KMR CEO, added: “We are delighted to continue our growth trajectory and welcome UIC and their students to the KMR group. When we first entered into the partnership with DPI, our ambition was to grow our student base to 5,000, develop new degree programmes, and expand our presence into Africa. DPI has been instrumental in helping us exceeding these goals in less than four years and we are excited about the continuation of this journey, and the prospect of reaching 10,000 students.”