The country’s technology university, the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), has won the CFA Institute Research Challenge (IRC) in the Zimbabwe competition, according to the Investment Professionals Association of Zimbabwe (IPAZ).
NUST now advances to the regional competition, where it will compete against universities from the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. The NUST team consists of Panashe Gotora, Edith Gwasira, Bukhosi Ndlovu, Munashe Jimu, and Tariro Rwakonda. The team’s faculty adviser was Norbert Mungwini, a lecturer of Corporate Finance at NUST, while the mentor was Bonginkosi Ntabeni, a Senior Associate at CBZ Capital.
Other universities that competed against NUST at the Research Challenge in Zimbabwe are: the University of Zimbabwe, Midlands State University, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Harare Institute of Technology, Solusi University, Great Zimbabwe University and Africa University.
NUST, which has won the same competition for a record five times, fielded two teams this year. Each university sent a team of three to five students to participate in the local challenge.
The Research Challenge in Zimbabwe was the first step of three for a local team to advance towards the global final. The students from NUST will now prepare for the regional finals where they will match their wits, analytical skills, and presentation abilities against student teams from Sub Saharan Africa.
The Sub-Regional round will take place in March 2023. After all local competitions have been completed, local winners will receive specific instructions for recording their sub-regional presentations. Teams advancing from the sub-regionals to the regional semifinals will be announced at the end of March.
IPAZ Vice President, Mr Ranga Makwata, said the Research Challenge is one of the events where shareholders get an opportunity to give back to their communities.
“Volunteers from IPAZ spent countless hours to get it organised. Some were mentoring the students for three months, others graded the reports and another group was of judges at the final presentation. The end result is very satisfying as the students benefit from this experience and get ready for the next chapter of their professional lives,” he added.
The students presented their analysis and buy/sell/hold recommendations on Simbisa Brands Limited. Their presentation at the Research Challenge in Harare was the culmination of months of research; interviews with company management, competitors, and clients; and presentation training.
Takudzwa Mupudzi, a local host coordinator of the competition, said the level of competition and the quality of research reports this year showed marked improvement on previous editions.
“The four teams who proceeded to the final all produced world-class equities reports giving testimony to the work that was done by the students under the supervision of their mentors and faculty advisers,” he said.
IPAZ hosts this competition as part of its quest to help develop the skills base in the local capital markets to world standards. It also seeks to produce an investment professional who adheres to good ethical standards and upholds the integrity of the markets they serve. The ultimate beneficiary of all these is the investor and the society at large.
This year’s CFA Institute Research Challenge hosted by IPAZ was sponsored by Old Mutual Investment Group, Datvest and First Mutual Wealth.