British Council organises CFA exams in Abuja

The Chartered Financial Institute in association with British Council in Nigeria has delivered the first ever Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) exams in Abuja. 

The exam, which held yesterday was accomplished with over 100 candidates writing the exams in Abuja.

The exams which also took place in Lagos (the second time in the state) had over 400 candidates sitting for the exam.

The CFA exam was first held in Nigeria on 23 June 2018 in Lagos state with over 800 candidates.
 
This presents a huge relief to candidates taking the exams here in Nigeria by saving cost and reducing travel time.

Before the commencement of the exams in Nigeria, Ghana was the closest country where Nigerians travelled to for the examination, while those who could afford it went to Europe or Dubai with the attendant foreign exchange expense on flight, hotel and logistics.

In Nigeria alone, there are over 2,000 Certified Financial Analysts.
 
The CFA Institute is one of the leading professional bodies for the global investment management industry and it awards the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) credential which is held by over 150,000 professionals around the world.

On why the British Council has decided to work with the Chartered Financial Institute to make the CFA exam more accessible to Nigerians, Lucy Pearson, Country Director, British Council Nigeria and West Africa Cluster Lead, noted ‘At the British Council, we provide professional, educational, and life-changing opportunities through our work; and qualifications is one of the ways we achieve this. Securing internationally recognised qualifications promotes personal growth, career opportunities and provides a chance for enhanced livelihoods. At the British Council, through our work in Nigeria, we are focused on giving access to these opportunities’.

This will open the doors to further career development and bring opportunities to develop critical skills needed to compete in today’s global economy. 

The British Council has long-standing expertise in delivering high quality exam services and we will continue to do so in order to create more opportunities for access to internationally recognised qualifications.’  
 
“The British Council also offers and administers a wide range of exams, from English tests to school and professional qualifications, in more than 90 countries worldwide with highly trained and experienced personnel who meet British Council and exam board standards, work with qualified examiners and provide carefully selected venues, well-equipped facilities. 

“In Nigeria the British Council conducts exams in a number of cities nationwide and these include offering reliable and secure invigilation services. These services offer students the opportunity to take supervised exams, tests and other assessments from professional institutions in the UK and Europe, Canada, Australia, Africa and the rest of the world. With experienced and trained invigilators across Nigeria, adherence to exam test day policies and integrity is maintained
 
Also speaking on the commencement of the exams in Abuja, Banji Fehintola, President of CFA Society Nigeria said, “We are very delighted that CFA Institute has opened the new test centre in Abuja starting from the December 2018 CFA exams.

This follows the test centre that was opened in Lagos in June 2018. With the CFA exams now available at two test centres in Nigeria, this development will no doubt make it easier and less expensive for Nigerian candidates to write the CFA exams. 

“It also saves the country a lot of foreign exchange, supports our economy and demonstrates CFA Institute’s strong commitment to Nigeria. Looking into the future, we expect the candidate numbers in Nigeria to grow rapidly and this will further boost the membership of CFA Society Nigeria, which is currently the fastest growing CFA Institute member society in the country.