3 UoN, Kenyatta varsity students earn Sh600,000 in NSE contest

The three winners of this year’s Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) investment competition will walk away with Sh600,000 in cash prizes donated by the exchange and its partners.

The trio drawn from public universities will also have an opportunity for internship at the NSE, NIC Securities, KASNEB and Smart Youth, the competition sponsors.

The NSE Investment Challenge, which aims to impart knowledge on various investment instruments at the bourse and create a culture of saving and investment among the youth, was won by Mutua Franklin Muthangya from the University of Nairobi Main Campus.

Joseph Munyao Kiio and Catherine Wanjiku Njoroge from Kenyatta University City and main campuses respectively took the first runners -p and second runners-up positions.

NSE chief executive Geoffrey Odundo said to date, the competition has successfully educated more than 100,000 youth in over 32 counties.

“This year the NSE Investment Challenge visited 40 institutions of higher learning and educated 14,894 participants about the challenge with 9,804 registering for the same,” he said.

The competition also seeks to improve financial management and entrepreneurial skills among the Kenyan youth.

KASNEB chief executive Pius Nduatih said it was important to build the youth’s capacity to engage in the financial market industry.

He said the Certified Investment and Financial Analysts (CIFA) qualification which is offered by KASNEB provides the knowledge required by the youth who are participating in the NSE competition.

NIC Securities, a subsidiary of the listed NIC Bank, offered the students mentorship programmes through one-on-one sessions and online forums.

Smart Youth Investment said during the regional activation tours, issues that came up included the need to introduce financial literacy in primary and high schools.