Leading data consulting and financial training firm in Africa, dbrownconsulting, and the Financial Modeling Institute (Canada) have announced a scholarship program that offers up to 95% discount on training and accreditation exams in financial modelling.

The partners made this announcement in an official statement on Tuesday as it also announced the launch of Africa’s premier Financial Modeling Academy (FMA) through which it would be providing up to 95% scholarship on financial training and accreditation exams for African residents and students.

“Through our Financial Modeling Academy, we are delighted to offer candidates access to the Financial Modeling Institute’s curriculum and exams that will provide Africans with the highest quality financial modelling training,” said David Brown, Founder & CEO of dbrownconsulting. “This will be a game-changer for the financial modelling industry in Africa and enable professionals to stay competitive in an increasingly complex business environment.”

The Financial Modeling Academy provides an eight-week online program for students and career professionals in Accounting, Corporate/Commercial Banking, Private Debt, Investment Banking, and Private Equity amongst others. The immersive training will give enrollees access to weekly modules and live question and answer sessions with certified financial modelers. As an important technical skill required for financial forecasting to analyse a company’s financial position or assess an asset’s potential, the program equips participants with the necessary skills to excel as world-class financial modellers.

Delivered at a moderate pace with one training module per week, the program will provide participants with enough flexibility to properly acquaint themselves with all training materials, receive timely support from the facilitators, access to an exam guide and free mock exam to help them prepare, and provide access to the dbrownconsulting and FMI communities. At the end of the program, each participant will take the Advanced Financial Modeler Certificate exam designed by the FMI to earn the designation of an Advanced Financial Modeler upon successful results.

Eligibility for the student scholarship requires applicants to be enrolled in an academic institution, preferably as an undergraduate or as a student of a professional organisation, such as Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). Student enrollees, with relevant identification, at the FMA will be eligible to pay $150, a 95% discount from the original fee of $2,841.

For non-student professionals who want to access the FMA 88% scholarship for this category, applicants must be a citizen and resident of any of 54 African countries, excluding South Africa. The fees payable shall be $347. The Academy is also accessible at $972 to non-Africans outside the continent who find Financial Modeling skills relevant.

The first cohort of the Financial Modeling Academy will open on Monday May 22, 2023.

“We are excited to provide Africans with scholarships to access our community and our world-class financial modeling accreditation program through the Financial Modeling Academy in partnership with dbrownconsulting,” said Ian Schnoor, Executive Director of FMI. “As FMI expands its reach into Africa, it furthers our mission of empowering financial professionals to advance the skills they need to succeed in their careers.”