By: Peneyambeko Jonas
A new schools-based financial literacy programme has been launched in Windhoek, giving learners access to financial market technology and investment education.
The Bloomberg Finance Lab Schools Initiative, launched at the Bloomberg Finance Lab in the High-Tech Transfer Plaza Select (HTTPS) Building, is a partnership between the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), MTC Namibia and the Namibia Investment and Finance Academy (NIFA).
Speaking at the launch, Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture, Dino Ballotti, said the programme aligns with the government’s efforts to equip young people with skills required in a rapidly changing economy.
“Financial literacy, career awareness, and exposure to real markets are not add-ons to a good education; they are part of what a good education now has to include,” Ballotti stated.
Drawing from his experience in the financial sector, Ballotti noted that Bloomberg terminals are widely used by financial institutions and universities across the world to analyse markets and support investment decisions.
“Until now, that kind of exposure was something Namibian learners only read about, or encountered for the first time at postgraduate level abroad, if at all. What NUST, MTC, and NIFA have built here changes that,” he said.
The initiative builds on a Bloomberg Finance Lab established at NUST in March 2025 through a partnership between the university, MTC and NIFA. Initially designed for postgraduate and executive education, the facility is now being extended to school learners.
Acting Vice-Chancellor of NUST, Professor Erold Naomab, said the university views the initiative as part of its broader responsibility to contribute to the country’s education system.
“This initiative places a Grade 8 learner in the same facility, using the same technology, that the University uses to train postgraduate finance professionals,” he said.
Naomab added that the project demonstrates how academic institutions can extend their resources beyond university students to benefit younger learners.
According to MTC Namibia Chief Brand, Marketing, Communications and Sustainability Officer, Tim Ekandjo, the telecommunications company invested N$1.6 million in the project to support the installation of 12 Bloomberg terminals.
“A single Bloomberg terminal costs in the order of N$500,000. This lab houses twelve of them,” Ekandjo said.
He explained that the investment was aimed at expanding access to financial and investment education.
“We did it because we believe Namibian youth are worth investing in early, and because access to tools like these should not depend on a learner’s ability to leave the country to find them,” he said.
Ekandjo further announced that beneficiaries of MTC’s internship programme will be exposed to the Bloomberg Finance Fundamentals certification to strengthen financial literacy beyond the school environment.
Khomas Regional Governor Sam Nujoma said the region endorsed the initiative earlier this year because it addresses a gap between classroom theory and practical exposure to financial markets.
“Too many of our young people finish school able to recite theory, but without ever having touched the tools that the financial world runs on. This initiative closes that gap,” Nujoma said.
He also revealed that he personally completed the Bloomberg Finance Fundamentals certification after visiting the facility in June.
“It was practical, and it was informative, in a way that changed how I understood both the global and the local economy in practice, not just in theory,” he said.
Stakeholders at the launch said financial literacy and investment knowledge are becoming increasingly important as Namibia seeks to diversify its economy, strengthen entrepreneurship and prepare young people for emerging opportunities in finance, technology and business.
The programme is expected to involve schools across the Khomas Region initially, with discussions underway on expanding access to learners in other regions.
