PREMIERE COLLEGE FOR PROFESSIONAL INVESTMENT AND FINANCE EDUCATION LAUNCHED

The Institute of Certified Investment and Financial Analysts (ICIFA) has launched a college to address the need for professional investment and finance education. The college targets students and practitioners who wish to gain professional investment and finance education qualifications.  Located  in Upper Hill, the college  will  be  offering   training for the Certified Investment and Financial Analysts (CIFA), Certified Public Accountants (CPA) qualifications as well as  short courses.  They are  aimed at advancing competence in investment decision making and provision of sound investment advice. Online training will also be available.

Milestone

This is a milestone for ICIFA which is the only professional body in Kenya mandated by the Investment and Financial Analysts Act, No. 13 of 2015 (IFA Act) to register and license investment and financial professionals both in public and private sectors. Mr.  Abubakar Hassan, Principal Secretary (PS)  at the State Department for Investment Promotion, said the college will play a critical  role in honing the skills of investment and finance professionals in a rapidly changing business environment. “This college is not just about academics; it is about creating an environment that will nurture the holistic development of students and practitioners in the investment and finance industry,” he said.

Mr.  Hassan   further   observed   that  the government was working closely with financial institutions, training institutions, training providers and other stakeholders in the investment industry to develop policies that facilitate investment training and   talent retention  in the sector.   The  state department for investment promotion is   legally mandated to establish and implement policies that promote, attract, develop  and retain both domestic and international direct investments,  besides  providing an enabling business environment for investors to do business. The department,  the PS   noted, will facilitate the  creation  of   an enabling environment for investment training and development by identifying bankable projects and  investment opportunities. It will also  promote   the investment sector, fostering collaborations  and advocating for favourable policies.

Short courses

Ms. Diana Muriuki-Maina, the ICIFA chief executive officer  said the college would soon introduce short courses such as presentation and communication skills for investment and finance professionals, big data and data analytics, fintech, personal financial planning, finance for non-finance professionals, investment decision making for boards, investment performance monitoring, investment banking and transaction advisory training, investment and wealth management, climate finance as well as  ESG for listed companies and risk management.