Botswana Stock Exchange Initiative Empowers Learners to Make Informed Investment Decisions

The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) aims to introduce learners to the basics of trading, portfolio management, and risk analysis, thereby equipping them to make informed investment decisions. As part of this effort, the BSE launched an initiative in collaboration with Stanbic Bank Botswana, which involves a simulated trading competition among senior secondary schools. The competition, which was held virtually from September 16 to October 10, saw 30 participating schools from across the country. The participating schools were allocated virtual funds to build their investment portfolios, and the school with the highest portfolio at the end of the competition was declared the winner.

Key Takeaways:

• The Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) launched the BSE-Stanbic Bank Senior Secondary Schools Finance and Investment competition in April last year to introduce learners to trading, portfolio management, and risk analysis.
• The competition was sponsored by Stanbic Bank Botswana to the tune of P495 000 annually, and it was open to all public and private senior secondary schools across the country.
• The 2022 virtually held competitions had 30 participating schools, an increase from the 15 schools from the previous year.
• Each participating school consisted of five learners who worked together to build their investment portfolio using one trading account created by the teacher.
• The competition was divided into regional and national levels, with the top three schools from each region proceeding to compete at the national level.
• The winners from each region received share vouchers, with the top school receiving P2 000 per learner, second place receiving P1 500 per learner, and third place receiving P1 000 per learner.
• The top three winners from the National Level will be awarded P15 000, P10 000, and P5 000, respectively, divided among the participating learners.

Statistics:

• Estimated annual sponsorship by Stanbic Bank Botswana: P495 000.
• Number of participating schools in the 2022 competition: 30.
• Number of schools that participated in the previous year: 15.
• Total number of learners who participated in the 2022 competition: 150 (5 learners per school).
• Number of regions in the competition: 4.
• Number of schools that participated in each region: 7-8 schools per region.

Sources:

• Botswana Stock Exchange. "BSE-Stanbic Bank Senior Secondary Schools Finance and Investment competition".
• [No additional sources cited in the original text.]