It’s official! The Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub is launching the Future FinTech Champion (FFC) Programme for a select cohort of university students, and applications are now open!

What is the Future FinTech Champion Programme?

The Future FinTech Champions Programme is a capacity building and networking opportunity developed by the Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub. The aim of the programme is to empower the workforce of the (near future) to be conversant with the FinTech environment, not just in Mauritius but with our Pan African network.

The Future FinTech Champions programme will give selected participants from Mauritian Universities, the opportunity to gain industry exposure through participation in all our events and activities.

What does the programme look like for selected participants?

The FFC programme spans over 1 year and consists of the following:

• Free access to monthly MAFH Workshops
• Free access to MAFH events & networking opportunities, including the Africa Fintech Festival!
• FinTech Champion Training to build your community
• Annual Hackathon to prototype solutions to market gaps

The programme includes an inter-university Hackathon where teams spend 48 hours to identify and prototype solutions to market gaps that can be bridged by leveraging FinTech.

Why Should You Participate?

As a FinTech Champion you will benefit from the following:

• Build your professional network with FinTech startups, regulators and corporates
• Access to workshops, talks and events at the MAFH
• Participate in the Africa FinTech Festival
• Interaction with industry leaders
• Exposure to cutting edge technologies
• Form your own community of FinTech innovators
• Identify market gaps to generate opportunities for you/ future employers
• Build a body of work to impress future employers.
• Get a certificate of participation in the programme which you can include in your portfolio

Deliverables

The Future FinTech Champions programme is about active participation. As well as attendance at our training and events, Champions are expected to actively contribute to raising awareness, and building the FinTech ecosystem in Mauritius.

Over the course of the year participants in the programme are expected to:

• Host a minimum of 2 talks/ workshops exposing your university community to the world of FinTech in Mauritius
• Participate and organise the annual Future FinTech Hackathon
• Attend all onboarding training
• Attend at least 70% of MAFH training and talks events.
• Assist in the running of the Africa FinTech Festival
• Facilitate the representation of FinTech Companies at career fairs and assist in raising awareness.
• Submit at least 2 blog articles showcasing FinTech in Mauritius and Africa.

Who can participate in the FFC Programme?

Students currently enrolled in a fintech-related degree programme in Mauritius (e.g. Finance, banking, accountancy, computer science, entrepreneurship, MBA) and have at least 1 year left on your degree programme.

We are seeking dedicated and energised candidates to take part in this unique opportunity. Ideal Future FinTech Champions may have shown their previous interest in FinTech through:

• Participation in other FinTech-related certification programmes (e.g. online executive courses, Massive Open Online Courses [MOOCs] etc)
• Attending FinTech-related conferences, meetings and events
• Having carried out FinTech-related internships or other business experiences
• Having a FinTech-related business idea or are already working on their own startup
• Reading and research on FinTech

Meet Luqman – a Future FinTech Champion!

Luqman participating in our recent Regulatory RoundTable Event (November 2020, PwC Center, Moka, Mauritius)

Luqman Sookia is a third year Bachelor of Commerce student at Curtin University and has a strong proven interest in the FinTech industry. He has enrolled in extracurricular courses (MOOCs) in the following: Statistics, FinTech, Big Data, Banking and in leadership and management.

Luqman is a team player and has demonstrated his entrepreneurial interest by launching The Ad., an Instagram community marketing page which promotes brands and influencers.

Why did you decide to join the Future FinTech Champions Programme?

“This programme gives me the opportunity to participate in events and talks which ultimately will help me develop skills that I could never obtain through University. Moreover, it helps me build a strong network through meeting with stakeholders in the FinTech ecosystem.”

How to Apply?

Applications open on the 2nd December and close on the 31st January 2021. The FFC programme will be accepting a small cohort of hand-selected students from several Mauritian universities. Priority will be given to students who can demonstrate their interest in the FinTech sector through evidence of participation in previous events and courses, and/or through their statement of motivation.