Here's why Tanzanian students should learn to play the stock market

Dar es Salaam. David Mwanyisye – a second year accounting student at the Tanzania Institute of Accountancy (TIA) – has one wish:

He would like more practical investment training.

Curriculums, he says, should allow business students to discover what is possible in the stock market – to “practice what they learn.” 

David was one of hundreds of students who had the opportunity to learn how ‘play the markets’ during a trading boot camp organized by the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.

The trading showcase at TIA is part of the 2018 DSE Scholar Investment Challenge – a live trading simulation run by the Dar bourse that allows students to use virtual currency to hone their skills in creating tangible capital gains in the stock market.

Before the Challenge, David says he “did not know a student can hold shares in the stock market.”

Having seen what is possible, he wants his school to create more opportunities for him to practice his craft.

For him, trading could offer students a way to generate income without having to rely on a job market that is become increasingly volatile.

“Stock trading gives young people the opportunity to build themselves up as they look for jobs after graduation” David said.

Lawrence Laurian, who coordinates the Investment Challenge coordinator for the DSE, says their competition targets high schoolers and varsity students to raise stock market awareness.

“We’ve realized these kids know the theory – but don’t think they can actually trade on the bourse.”

That couldn’t be further from the truth, says Lawrence. “Young people have a place in the (stock) market.”