Rapid economic growth in many sub-Saharan African countries and the consolidation of the lower education sector implies that it is becoming increasingly important to meet the demand for higher education institutions. The expansion of existing national research institutions is facing challenges related to a shortage of faculties with up-to-date skills. There is also a shift in donor countries’ allocation of development aid from production to education, training and research. Many development agencies are now looking at developing higher education sectors in emerging developing economies with increasing interest. Given the institutional and contextual constraints in developing sustainable national research institutions in several sub-Saharan countries, there is a need to discuss new and innovative approaches and mechanisms to speed up the process. This article describes a program intended to develop stronger and sustainable national research institutions through a regional collaboration for a coursework-based PhD program. The program addresses the disciplines of economics and management and involves several institutions. It is an attempt to see whether a regional collaboration between prominent national research institutions in sub-Saharan Africa based on the new model of collaboration and a broader understanding of the actions needed can speed up the establishment of sustainable national research institutions.