After several weeks of selection and preparation, twelve students from four African countries competed in the final of the 6th edition of the Sika Academy in Abidjan. At the conclusion of the event focused on retirement planning through the financial market, the Ivorian team Hekima, composed of students from ESATIC, outperformed the representatives from Morocco, Benin, and Senegal.
"How to prepare for retirement using the financial market"? This was the central question addressed on 26 September during the final of the 6th edition of the Sika Academy.
Four teams from Ivory Coast, Morocco, Benin, and Senegal defended their analyses before a jury composed of finance professionals.
To reach this stage, candidates underwent several selection phases. More than 7 000 students from universities and higher education institutions in countries of UEMOA, CEMAC, and their diasporas registered for this edition, representing approximately 2 500 teams of three students at the outset.
Throughout the rounds, the group was narrowed down to twelve finalists, organized into four teams representing the CESAG of Dakar, the ESATIC of Abidjan, the University of Abomey-Calavi in Cotonou, and the Africa Business School (ABS) in Casablanca.
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Two weeks prior to the final, the participants gathered in Abidjan for a preparatory bootcamp, supervised by industry professionals, including Yves Angaman, Head of the Trading Room at Ascent Capital, Founyahata Coulibaly, Portfolio Manager at Bridge Asset Management, and Alain Gogo, Financial Analyst at NSIA Vie Assurances. At the opening of the final, Daniel Aggre, Managing Director of Sika Finance and founder of the competition, reiterated the mission of Sika Academy beyond mere academic performance.
"Sika Academy is certainly a competition, but it is primarily a space for learning and exchange," he emphasized. On behalf of the Coris group, Alexis Sankara, Deputy Managing Director of Coris Bank Ivory Coast, whose parent company sponsors this edition, invited the finalists to view this evening "not as a culmination, but as the beginning of a new stage."
For its part, the NSIA group, a partner of the competition since 2022, reaffirmed its commitment to education and the integration of young people into financial careers.
Then came the time for the presentations. Under the scrutiny of a jury chaired by Yacine Fal, an international expert in governance, strategy, and development finance, the four teams took turns defending their interpretation of the financial market and their solution to the challenge of retirement planning.
The exercise required proposing the most optimal allocation of monthly savings accumulated by an individual over their 30-year career. Investing in listed securities on the BRVM, subscribing to bond issues, mutual funds, or retirement insurance products: the various teams proposed several combinations aimed at allowing the saver to prepare for retirement through assets that appreciate over time.
At the end of the competition, Hekima, the Ivorian team from ESATIC, won with an average score of 86,14/100. They won the 5 million FCFA prize from BRVM, finishing ahead of Alpha Boost from Morocco, which came in second with 85,84 and was awarded 2 million FCFA as the Air Côte d'Ivoire prize.
Warriors from Benin finished third with 64,90 and received 1,5 million FCFA from the AFG Bank prize, while TheMomentum from Senegal, placing fourth with 63,98, left with 1 million FCFA as the Orange prize.
The evening also recognized individual performances. Kossou Espoir Zyad, from Alpha Boost, won the Idrissa Nassa Prize for best student, endowed with one million FCFA, while Blaka Deborah, from Hekima, secured the Jean Kacou Diagou Prize for best female student, also endowed with one million FCFA.
Fanuelle YAO
Published on 28/09/26 12:24
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