A graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been announced as the winner for this year’s Women in Finance Scholarship, becoming the first African to win it.

Nora Irene Ghartey, will use the award money to pursue an MSc degree in Financial Mathematics at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (LSE). 

She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree, in Actuarial Science from KNUST where she served as a teaching assistant.

The FINCAD Women in Finance Scholarship acknowledges outstanding women aspiring to secure employment in financial asset management, market risk management and derivatives finance within the capital markets.

One accomplished woman is chosen annually to receive the US$20,000 award to apply towards an advanced Finance degree. This is in line with their aim to help accelerate the winner’s successful path into the financial industry.

As part of Nora’s bachelor’s degree program, her research focused on finding optimal hedging strategies using option Greeks and other financial instruments.

Nora is currently participating in the career accelerator program, Yielding Accomplished African Women (Yaa W), hoping to have certifications as both a Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA) and a Capital Market and Securities Analyst (CMSA).

Nora Ghartey begins her coursework at LSE in September. 

Nonetheless, with tuition fee nearing £30,000, Nora will need financial assistance to be able to go through the programme.