The University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) has outperformed Australia’s Griffith Business School in the 2026 Better World MBA Ranking, ending the institution’s six-year run ahead of UCT.

Announced on Thursday, the result marks another strong performance for the South African business school, whose MBA programme has secured a place among the world’s top 10 for two consecutive years in the sustainability-focused assessment.

Maastricht University’s School of Business and Economics in the Netherlands claimed first position in the 2026 edition, which evaluated 166 MBA programmes worldwide.

UCT GSB Director (Dean), Dr Catherine Duggan, attributed the school’s performance to the distinctive business environment in which African graduates develop their leadership capabilities.

“I like to say that doing business in Africa is like playing on ‘hard mode’—you’re managing the same things as executives in markets like North America or Europe, but in African markets you have to be more adaptable, more strategic, better able to navigate uncertainty and solve problems, and even more aware of the impact your decisions have on society and the environment.

“Some of the most interesting innovation in the world is happening in Africa, and we’re proud to help bring some of that approach to impact and innovation to the global stage. Our students learn to navigate complex and fast-changing environments while understanding that business performance is inseparable from the health of economic, social and environmental systems.”

The Better World MBA Ranking is produced by Corporate Knights, a Canadian sustainability research and media company. Its assessment focuses on how effectively business schools incorporate sustainable development into compulsory coursework and the contributions of their graduates.

Curriculum accounts for 80% of the overall ranking score, with graduate impact making up the remaining 20%.

For the 2026 edition, Corporate Knights increased the weighting for alumni impact from 10% in 2025 to 20%. The adjustment places greater emphasis on the proportion of recent graduates employed in sustainability-related roles or organisations with social and environmental missions.

Associate Professor Caitlin Ferreira, Programme Director for the Modular MBA, welcomed the change, noting that it gives greater recognition to what graduates achieve after completing their studies.

“I’m happy that the ranking now places more emphasis on what MBA graduates go on to do with their degrees,” Ferreira said.

“Students work on real problems and hard questions faced by large corporations, small ventures and non-profit organisations, often alongside executives, entrepreneurs and decision-makers.”

Ferreira explained that sustainability and responsible leadership are integrated across the programme, including its capstone project. She added that students are prepared to understand complex business systems and consider the long-term implications of their decisions.

According to UCT GSB, the increased attention to graduate career outcomes reflects evolving expectations of business leaders. Organisations are increasingly required to respond to climate volatility, resource insecurity, geopolitical uncertainty and technological disruption.

The school also referenced Corporate Knights research indicating that sustainable revenue among some of the world’s largest companies had expanded at twice the rate of their other revenue in recent years.

Another concern highlighted by the institution is whether MBA graduates have the necessary skills to manage risks associated with artificial intelligence.

UCT GSB pointed to an October 2026 Corporate Recruiters Pulse Survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). The survey found that recruiters in the United States were questioning whether MBA programmes adequately prepared graduates to recognise AI’s limitations and apply the technology responsibly.

Dr Wayne Moodaley, Programme Director for the Full-Time MBA, said emerging technologies were introducing additional responsibilities for business leaders.

“AI can help organisations analyse information and make decisions more efficiently, but these benefits need to be weighed against potential environmental and social costs, as well as questions of errors, risk and accountability. Throughout the MBA, we teach students to evaluate these and other trade-offs, integrating sustainability and responsible management into core business decision-making.”

The business school said its teaching approach combines conventional management competencies with knowledge of sustainability, ethics and artificial intelligence to prepare graduates for the demands of modern business leadership.

Beyond the Better World MBA Ranking, UCT GSB also highlighted its standing in other international assessments.

The institution said its MBA maintained its leading position in Africa in the latest QS ranking. Ferreira also received the MBA Director of the Year award from the London-based Association of MBAs (AMBA) earlier in 2026.

Its Executive MBA secured a place among the world’s top 100 programmes in the Financial Times ranking. The programme also ranked first in Africa and the Middle East in the QS assessment and sixth globally according to CEO Magazine.

Additionally, UCT GSB remains the only African member of the CEMS alliance. The alliance’s Master in International Management programme was ranked fourth worldwide in the 2027 QS Master’s in Management Rankings.

SOURCE:Inside Education