MASD & ICMA

Mongolian Association of Securities Dealers and International Capital Market Association has signed a swap-membership agreement in 2021. MASD and ICMA is planning to work closely and our initial step starts with bringing Mongolian candidates to be eligible for the ICMA Scholarship 2022 program.

About ICMA

Its membership of around 600 spans over 60 countries and includes all types of issuers, intermediaries and investors as well as central banks and other institutions who play an important role in the capital markets such as exchanges, trading platforms, clearing and settlement firms, rating agencies and law firms.

ICMA’s market conventions and standards have been the pillars of the international debt market for over 50 years, performing a crucial central role in the market by providing industry-driven standards and recommendations for issuance, trading and settlement in international fixed income and related instruments, alongside product standards and guidelines for sustainable finance.

ICMA liaises closely with regulatory and governmental authorities, both at the national and supranational level, to help to ensure that financial regulation promotes the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the capital market.

Eligibility criteria:

Open to citizens of the following countries:

Sub-Saharan Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Asia Pacific: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Candidates must be between 19 and 30 years old at time of application;

Good level of education (not necessarily a University degree).

To start the process potential students must submit all of the following:

A 500-word statement explaining their background, career plans, and why they should qualify for a scholarship;

A Curriculum Vitae including your nationality and country of residence, full contact details;

Academic records and evidence of educational attainment;

Two reference letters including contact details of the persons providing them.

ICMA will be unable to consider applications that do not provide all of the four requirements listed above.

Please take time to carefully read the eligibility criteria and required documentation before submitting your application. Kindly ensure that you send all requested documents in a single email, otherwise your submission will be rejected.

Due to the high volume of applications, we will not be able to reply to or consider any submissions which are incomplete.

Applications must be submitted to scholarships@icmagroup.org

The deadline for submissions for the 2022 intake is 15 January 2022.

About the selection process:

Candidates must meet the eligibility criteria;

A panel of ICMA staff will shortlist and make the final selection;

Selection is based on a number of factors, including academic merit, evidence of interest in financial markets, financial need, among others.

Scholarship outcomes:

Scholarship selection will take place in the last two weeks of January 2022 and shortlisted candidates may be called in for a further interview (to be conducted virtually);

Announcements of successful recipients will be made by mid-February 2022. If you have not heard from us by this date, then please assume that you have not been selected. We will be unable to contact unsuccessful applicants individually or provide feedback.

Successful recipients must complete the programme within 12 months of commencing their first course.

In addition, candidates must pass the exams for the foundation and advanced courses in order to move forward with the programme, failure to do so will invalidate the scholarship. ICMA will only cover exam fees once for each level.

Background

ICMA is offering 35 scholarships in 2022 to individuals from selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia Pacific who are unable to pursue a financial qualification due to their economic circumstances as part of ICMA's mission to raise standards and support inclusion in financial markets.

This has been increased from 25 scholarships, following the successful launch of the ICMA Scholarship Programme in 2021. We have also extended the availability of the programme to seven countries in Asia Pacific while adding Ethiopia to our Sub-Saharan Africa allocation.

The scholarships will be available to young people who are interested in a career in finance from the following countries:

Asia Pacific (15 scholarships allocated): India*, Indonesia*, Malaysia*, Mongolia*, Philippines*, Thailand* and Vietnam*.

Sub-Saharan Africa (20 scholarships allocated): Ethiopia*, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

*New for 2022.

ICMA has been active in the aforementioned countries through its efforts to develop the local repo markets alongside capacity-building in partnership with a number of development institutions such as Frontclear in Africa and the Asian Development Bank in Asia.

The scholarships provide an opportunity to study for one of the ICMA Diplomas, namely:

ICMA Diploma in Debt Capital Markets

ICMA Diploma Securities & Derivatives

ICMA Diploma in Financial Market Operations

Each diploma pathway includes taking the prescribed foundation and advanced level courses along with two specialist courses and/or ICMA workshops. This education programme is delivered in partnership with the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading.

These diplomas are internationally recognised qualifications taught by experienced market professionals which can kick-start a career in financial markets.

All the courses which make up the diplomas can be studied online over 12 months as a mix of self-study and virtual classroom programmes, and they include online exams. The ICMA scholarship will fully cover the course and examination fees for the relevant Diploma.

A good level of education (but not necessarily a University degree), interest in financial markets and proficiency in English are necessary application criteria. Candidates may be in full-time education, working in finance already or looking to move into it.

We would like to encourage ICMA members and academic institutions to share this information with students who may wish to apply.

Source: https://www.icmagroup.org/News/news-in-brief/icma-launches-its-2022-scholarship-programme/