The Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) has launched its University Challenge for the 2024/25 academic year. The program aims to promote financial and capital markets knowledge among undergraduate students.
The launch took place yesterday in Dar es Salaam. Speaking at the event, Mr. Exaud Julius, CMSA’s Director of Market Supervision and Investigation, said the challenge shows CMSA’s commitment to building a financially aware generation.
He said this generation will help grow Tanzania’s financial sector and also benefit from it.
“This competition, which starts today and ends on August 31, 2025, gives students enough time to take part without affecting their studies,” said Mr. Julius.
He also announced that the top male and female winners will each receive TZS 1.8 million as a prize.
The main goal of the challenge is to improve financial literacy and inclusion among university students. Participants will be tested on their understanding of capital markets.
Mr. Julius said that teaching young people and women about finance is a key part of the CMSA’s Strategic Plan (2023/24 – 2028/29) and the broader Capital Markets Master Plan.
He also noted that one of the goals in the Master Plan is to raise adult participation in capital markets to five percent by 2030. The University Challenge is helping to achieve this.
So far, the program has gained a lot of attention. By February 29, 2024, it had attracted over 88,871 participants—an 82.6 percent increase from 48,662 in 2021.
The challenge has two main parts: a Quiz Competition and an Essay Competition.
For the essay part, students are asked to write about the topic: “With practical examples, discuss the role of thematic capital market products in mobilizing resources for financing businesses and development projects.”
Two students, Peter Daniel from the University of Dar es Salaam and Hilda Buhengo from the College of Business Education, thanked CMSA for organizing the challenge. They said it would help them gain financial knowledge and open doors to career opportunities in the capital markets sector.
“This is a great chance for us,” said Peter. “We are ready to make the most of it.”