FinTech is a booming industry throughout the African continent but South Africa is reluctant to take advantage of this opportunity. This is largely due to a lack of skills and training, particularly in financial literacy. Future Talent Academy, a subsidiary of Khonology, believes the FinTech industry can be the catalyst to fixing the national crisis of unemployment and poor financial literacy.

The Academy focuses on people and technology to enable businesses to successfully upskill and create competent fin-technologists to de-risk delivery risk in light of increasing regulation, digitalisation and increased demand in capacity. It is a niche institution that delivers practical and sustainable FinTech training solutions to empower Africa’s people.

Khonology CEO Michael Roberts says FinTech holds the promise of empowering Africa and delivering transformation by encouraging social inclusion, expanding the digital economy and enabling stronger links between citizens, governments, customers, businesses and the communities they serve. He points to banking, telecommunications, insurance and manufacturing as a few industries that are changing through FinTech. “We must start training technologists who gain unique FinTech skills and who can change their environment. This way we drive employment and education forward for Africans by Africans.”

The programme aims to provide a practical understanding of the day-to-day workings of specific markets; explain the application of the products within those markets; and to explain the under-pinning technology and people process that connect buyers and sellers in any market.

“We can give the local youth a real opportunity to gain useful skills and experience. We need to start by educating society about FinTech and then provide employment through learnerships and internships,” he explains.

The education system is deteriorating at a rapid pace and it is not helping with employment or building any new competencies. The business community needs to take control of this crisis, it cannot continue blaming Government for the failure.

Roberts says if this continues, the youth will neither become an employee, partner nor consumer. “If we do not fix the unemployment and education gap, we will not have any entrepreneurial partners, employees nor consumers. This will ultimately have a serious impact on the bottom line.”

Future Talent Academy offers a financial technology training programme that is bespoke to the workforce, equipping each attendee with a tailored understanding of the global market place, their value chain and the importance of their role within business.

"We offer an enhanced training academy and programme to upskill and cross-train a number of selected employees on financial markets, economics, and tool to empower them and set them up for success in the digital workplace," he concludes.