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Business Reporter

The Financial Markets Indaba (FMI), in partnership with The Herald sister publication, Business Weekly, will host the Capital Markets – high school competition from September to end of October this year as part of efforts to show the important role capital markets play towards economic development.

This also seeks to foster a culture of savings at an early age as well as increase financial literacy and inclusion in capital markets.

The Capital Markets – High Schools Quiz competition is part of the Capital Markets Awards programme, which is a landmark annual recognition event to benchmark institutional achievement and performance in the markets and exchanges landscape of Zimbabwe’s financial sector.

The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has already endorsed and approved the quiz competition featuring students from form 4 to form 6 with at least 120 students expected to participate.

All public, private, and parochial high schools in Zimbabwe are eligible to participate.

The competition will be structured as a 20-team single-elimination bracketed academic tournament with four qualifying matches and a single national final championship match.

FMI managing director Patrick Muzondo said the programme also served as an opportunity to inform and demystify complexities and myths that surround participating in financial and capital markets and in turn encourages individuals from all walks of life to invest on the local markets including stock exchanges.

“The Capital Markets – High Schools Quiz competition offers a unique and exciting way to motivate, inspire, encourage and reward secondary and high school scholars in their quest for knowledge and provide them with the opportunity to celebrate their achievement as part of a high profile, national competition. 

The Quiz fosters a generation that is conscious of the importance of savings, financial literacy and capital markets.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZim) are the Headline Sponsors of the Capital Markets – High Schools Quiz Competition. 

“Material from the Investor Protection Fund (IPF) and SECZim Investment 101 Handbook will be included as part of the quiz competition programme and is meant to provide the tools and guidelines that a prospective investor would need to help them make informed decisions and serves as a complete guide to individuals and organisations to become astute investors on the Zimbabwean capital markets,” he said.

According to FMI, a summary of the handbook has been translated into ChiShona and IsiNdebele providing an opportunity to conduct the quiz using at least three of Zimbabwe’s official languages.

As part of the Government’s 2030 vision of an upper middle-income economy, the capital markets are seen as a mechanism that can be used to alleviate poverty, to give an opportunity to those who do not yet have it, to foster inclusivity and equality. 

In turn profitable exchanges, investors and companies rely on sustainable, healthy and prosperous societies.

Consensus amongst capital markets players has it that currently the sector is not receiving enough recognition from policy makers despite their crucial role of providing capital raising solutions for businesses. 

As such there was a need for all capital markets players to work together and raise a voice that cannot be ignored in the economy and show their relevance to the economic transformation agenda. 

To address this gap, SECZim is working with relevant authorities towards an intervention during this quarter.