Quality in African higher education has suffered seriously as it struggles with massive expansion in a context of profound political, social and economic changes and severe financial crisis. African universities have experienced extremely rapid growth in student numbers, and especially first-year students. African governments often face extreme difficulties in mobilizing the critical mass of human resources and equipment needed to ensure quality training in certain priority areas. This has impelled regional groupings of political and economic communities to establish common university institutions designed as centres of excellence. The Consortium was established in 1988 in Nairobi. It finances and coordinates research activities at departments of economics at African universities. The Consortium is engaged in setting up three master's degree programmes, one for anglophone universities other than Nigeria, one for Nigeria, and one for francophone universities, with funds from the African Capacity Building Foundation.