Countries that make substantial investments in research consistently lead in global competitiveness, leveraging innovation and knowledge creation to drive economic growth and societal advancement. However, African nations face formidable challenges in research financing, characterized by limited access to funding for faculty and students. These constraints exacerbate disparities in quality, excellence, innovation, and equity, hindering the continent’s ability to compete on a global scale. Consequently, African research remains heavily reliant on external funding, a dependency that brings both opportunities and threats. While external resources have facilitated critical advancements, they often come with conditions that may not align with local priorities, limiting the autonomy and sustainability of higher education institutions and national research agendas. Over the decades, persistent calls have emerged through regional and international agencies advocating for increased domestic funding for research and innovation in Africa. These calls underscore the urgency of fostering self-reliance by strengthening local investment mechanisms for research and innovation. To this end, a paradigm shift is essential—one that involves exploring innovative funding strategies tailored to Africa’s unique context, which may include adapting proven global funding models, such as public–private partnerships, research endowments, and performance-based funding, to align with the continent’s needs and realities. By prioritizing domestic funding and fostering creative approaches to financing, African nations can enhance the capacity and resilience of their research ecosystems. This shift is critical not only for achieving socio-economic transformation but also for positioning Africa as a significant contributor to the global knowledge economy. This chapter discusses some of the notable and successful initiatives for research funding in African Higher Education while it also notes challenges and threats of the systemic deficiencies in funding the sector with implications for continental research and innovation in particular and the world in general.