The curriculum
36 modules in six parts, from your first budget to finance for leaders. Every module is free to learn with the AI teacher, is taught with local examples (Tanzania's edition is live today) and ends with a short check.
Start learning free · How certificates work
Three certificates and a capstone
- Personal Money Management: modules 1–18 and the capstone.
- Wealth Building: modules 19–29 and the capstone.
- Finance for Leaders: modules 30–35 and the capstone.
- Capstone (module 36): your own personal financial plan, graded against a published rubric.
Part 1: Foundations and Mindset
Module 1: Introduction to Financial Literacy
Learn what financial literacy really means, why it matters in a mobile-money world, and measure your own financial health with a few simple numbers.
About 25 minutes.
- Define financial literacy in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour, and name the six money areas it covers.
- Explain at least three ways financial literacy affects outcomes for individuals, families and communities, including in a mobile-money economy.
- Calculate savings rate, emergency-fund cover, debt-service ratio and net worth from given figures.
- Complete a financial health self-assessment, interpret the score and identify their two highest-priority areas to improve.
Module 2: Money Mindset and Behaviour
Discover the beliefs and mental shortcuts behind your money choices, and learn practical ways to tame impulse spending and handle social and family pressure.
About 30 minutes.
- Identify common money scripts, trace one of their own money beliefs to its source and judge whether it helps or hurts their goals.
- Recognise present bias, loss aversion, mental accounting, anchoring, herd behaviour and overconfidence in everyday scenarios.
- Calculate the yearly cost of a spending habit and its cost in hours of work, and apply at least three techniques to reduce impulse spending.
- Explain lifestyle inflation and design a giving plan with clear boundaries for family and social obligations.
Module 3: Financial Goal Setting
Turn vague wishes into short, medium and long-term goals with real costs, deadlines and monthly amounts, then prioritise and track them.
About 30 minutes.
- Classify financial goals as short-term, medium-term or long-term and as needs, obligations or wants, and explain why the time frame affects where money is kept.
- Rewrite a vague wish as a SMART goal that states a full cost, a deadline and a regular saving action.
- Calculate the monthly and weekly saving needed for a goal, including adjusting a future cost for inflation.
- Prioritise competing goals, build a goal plan and track progress as a percentage of the target.
Module 4: Time Value of Money
See how compounding makes money grow, how inflation quietly eats its value, and why starting early with a small amount beats starting late with a big one.
About 35 minutes.
- Explain the time value of money and calculate simple and compound interest on a lump sum.
- Calculate the future value of a lump sum for different compounding frequencies and estimate doubling time with the Rule of 72.
- Explain inflation and calculate future purchasing power and the real return on savings.
- Calculate the future value of regular savings and use it to show why starting early beats starting big.
Part 2: Managing Day-to-Day Money
Module 5: Understanding Your Income
Learn to read every line of your payslip, work out exactly how gross pay becomes take-home pay, and see all your income streams clearly.
About 25 minutes.
- Identify each section of a payslip (earnings, deductions, employer contributions, net pay) and explain what each line means.
- Calculate taxable income and net pay from gross pay and a list of deductions, and explain marginal versus effective tax rates.
- Classify deductions as statutory, voluntary or ordered, distinguish saving deductions from costs, and spot common payslip errors.
- List their income streams, measure each as profit rather than revenue, and estimate a conservative monthly figure for irregular income.
Module 6: Personal Financial Statements
Build your own income statement and net worth statement, value what you own honestly, and use simple ratios to track your progress.
About 30 minutes.
- Prepare a monthly personal income statement that lists all income and expenses and calculates a surplus or deficit.
- Prepare a net worth statement listing all assets and outstanding liabilities on a given date and calculate net worth.
- Value assets at realistic market value and classify them as liquid, investment or personal-use assets.
- Calculate savings rate, debt-to-asset ratio and emergency cover from their statements and use them to choose a next action.
Module 7: Expense Tracking
Track every expense for a month, sort it into meaningful categories, and find the small leaks, including mobile money fees, that quietly drain your income.
About 25 minutes.
- Choose a tracking method and record every expense (date, amount, purpose, payment method), including cash spending, for at least 30 days.
- Group expenses into categories, calculate each as a share of income, and classify costs as fixed or variable and as needs or wants.
- Identify money leaks in their records, including small daily spending, mobile money transfer and withdrawal fees, and auto-renewing services.
- Calculate the monthly and annual cost of a leak and design a specific, realistic change to reduce it.
Module 8: Budgeting
Choose a budgeting method that fits your life (50/30/20, zero-based or envelopes), budget confidently on irregular income, and build the habits that make a budget stick.
About 30 minutes.
- Apply the 50/30/20 method to their take-home income and adapt the percentages to their real circumstances while keeping savings planned.
- Build a zero-based monthly budget in which income minus all allocations equals zero.
- Set up an envelope system, physical or digital, for variable spending categories.
- Calculate a baseline income from irregular earnings and design a budget and income buffer around it.
- Calculate budget variances, adjust their budget, and use specific habits to stick to it.
Module 9: Personal Financial Planning
Bring your goals, budget, savings and debts together into one short written plan, and learn how to review and adjust it as life changes.
About 30 minutes.
- Calculate their net worth and monthly cash flow as the starting snapshot of a plan.
- Write SMART goals, convert each into a monthly saving amount (allowing for inflation), and put goals in a justified priority order.
- Assemble a one-page written plan covering snapshot, goals, budget, saving and debt, protection and long-term saving.
- Set a review rhythm, measure goal progress, and adjust the plan after a life event.
Module 10: Saving and Emergency Funds
Work out how much emergency money you need, where to keep it safely, and how to make saving automatic so it happens without willpower.
About 30 minutes.
- Calculate an emergency fund target from essential costs and justify the number of months of cover for their situation.
- Compare places to keep savings on safety, access and return, including after-tax and real (inflation-adjusted) return.
- Set up an automatic saving system and calculate how long it will take to reach a savings target.
- Decide whether an expense is a genuine emergency and describe how to rebuild the fund after using it.
Module 11: Banking and Digital Financial Services
Understand bank accounts and mobile money, work out what they really cost and earn, and use them safely, including what to do when something goes wrong.
About 30 minutes.
- Describe the main account types (current, savings, fixed deposit, mobile wallet, microfinance or SACCO) and choose a suitable set-up for a given need.
- Calculate the monthly cost of account fees, express a fee as a percentage, and calculate simple interest on a deposit.
- Use mobile money and digital banking in ways that reduce cost and support budgeting and saving.
- Recognise common digital fraud tactics, apply safety rules, and follow the steps to resolve and escalate a complaint.
Module 12: Smart Spending and Consumer Decisions
Learn to tell needs from wants, judge big purchases by their true cost, weigh renting against buying, and negotiate with confidence.
About 30 minutes.
- Separate the need and want parts of a purchase and apply a decision checklist, including cost per use and opportunity cost.
- Calculate the total cost of ownership of a big purchase and the extra cost of buying on instalments.
- Compare renting and buying a home, calculate housing cost as a share of income, and identify when each makes sense.
- Plan a negotiation and use consumer protections such as receipts, warranties and complaint channels.
Part 3: Debt, Credit, and Protection
Module 13: Understanding Debt
Learn to tell productive debt from destructive debt, calculate interest the way lenders do, and uncover the true cost of any loan before you sign.
About 30 minutes.
- Classify a proposed loan as productive, necessary or destructive by comparing the value or income it creates with its total cost.
- Calculate simple, flat-rate, reducing-balance and compounding interest for a given loan.
- Calculate the total cost of credit, including fees, and convert short-period rates into a rough yearly rate to compare offers.
- Calculate their debt service ratio and apply an affordability checklist before taking a loan.
Module 14: Loans and Credit Products
Compare bank loans, SACCO loans, digital lending apps, salary advances and student loans, and learn to choose the right product for each need.
About 35 minutes.
- Explain how bank loans work, including secured and payroll loans, the five Cs of credit, and calculate an amortising instalment.
- Explain how SACCO loans work, calculate a loan limit from savings, and describe guarantors' obligations.
- Evaluate a digital lending app on cost, licensing and data permissions, and calculate the cost of rolling over a loan.
- Calculate the effect of a salary advance on the next pay cheque and identify when advances signal a deeper problem.
- Calculate student loan repayments and match a borrowing need to a suitable credit product.
Module 15: Credit History and Creditworthiness
Discover how credit reference bureaus collect and share your repayment record, how lenders judge you, and how to build and protect a strong credit history.
About 30 minutes.
- Explain how credit reference bureaus collect, compile and share credit information, and who makes lending decisions.
- Read the main sections of a credit report, spot errors, and describe the steps to dispute them.
- Identify the factors that drive creditworthiness and calculate credit utilisation and on-time payment rates.
- Design a plan to build a credit record from nothing or repair a damaged one.
Module 16: Getting Out of Debt
Build a full picture of what you owe, choose a repayment strategy such as the snowball or avalanche, negotiate with lenders, and break the debt cycle for good.
About 30 minutes.
- Build a debt inventory, calculate total debt and debt service ratio, and recognise the signs of a debt trap.
- Order debts using the snowball and avalanche methods and calculate how payments roll over as debts are cleared.
- Evaluate rescheduling, restructuring and consolidation options and describe their rights in dealing with lenders.
- Explain the debt cycle and design personal rules and a savings buffer to avoid returning to debt.
Module 17: Insurance and Risk Management
Learn how insurance pools risk, how health, life, property and motor cover work, and how to decide how much protection is enough for you and your family.
About 35 minutes.
- Explain the four risk responses and how insurance works, including premiums, excess, exclusions and disclosure.
- Compare health insurance options and calculate out-of-pocket costs with excesses and co-payments.
- Distinguish types of life insurance and calculate life cover needed using a needs-based formula.
- Explain property and motor cover levels and calculate payouts under the average clause.
- Prioritise insurance needs within a budget, verify an insurer, and describe how to make and escalate a claim.
Module 18: Fraud and Scam Protection
Learn how Ponzi and pyramid schemes and digital frauds work, how to verify that a financial provider is licensed, and what to do if you are targeted.
About 30 minutes.
- Explain how Ponzi and pyramid schemes work, show with arithmetic why they collapse, and identify their red flags.
- Recognise common digital and mobile money frauds and apply rules that prevent them.
- Identify the right regulator for a financial activity and carry out due diligence to verify a licensed provider.
- Describe the immediate steps to take after being targeted or defrauded, including reporting and avoiding recovery scams.
Part 4: Building Wealth
Module 19: Investing Fundamentals
Learn the building blocks of every investment decision: how risk and return are linked, why diversification and liquidity matter, and how to work out your own investor profile.
About 30 minutes.
- Explain the relationship between risk and return, name the main types of investment risk, and calculate total and real return.
- Explain how diversification reduces specific risk and calculate a simple weighted portfolio return.
- Rank common assets by liquidity and match investments to short, medium and long time horizons.
- Determine an investor profile from time horizon, risk capacity and risk tolerance, and apply a pre-investment checklist.
Module 20: Fixed Income Investments
Understand how treasury bills, bonds and fixed deposits work, how to calculate what they pay, and how to choose and combine them for your goals.
About 30 minutes.
- Explain how treasury bills are issued at a discount through auctions and calculate the return on a T-bill held to maturity.
- Describe the key features of a bond, calculate coupon income, and explain why bond prices move opposite to interest rates.
- Calculate interest on a fixed deposit before and after tax and identify the terms and protections to check before opening one.
- Compare fixed income products on risk, liquidity, tax and return, and build a simple maturity ladder matched to goals.
Module 21: Shares and the Stock Market
See how a stock exchange works, how to buy and sell shares safely, how dividends are paid, and how to read the basics of a company's financial information.
About 35 minutes.
- Explain what a share is, how primary and secondary markets differ, and the roles of the regulator, exchange, broker and depository.
- Describe the steps to buy and sell shares, choose between market and limit orders, and calculate the total cost of a purchase including fees.
- Explain how dividends are declared and paid and calculate gross dividends, net dividends and dividend yield.
- Read the main parts of an annual report, calculate EPS and P/E, and identify common red flags.
Module 22: Collective Investment Schemes
Discover how unit trusts and other funds pool small amounts into professionally managed, diversified portfolios, and how to choose, compare and safely invest in one.
About 30 minutes.
- Explain how a collective investment scheme pools money and calculate NAV per unit and the number of units bought.
- Compare money market, bond, balanced and equity funds and open- versus closed-ended structures, and match a fund type to a goal.
- Identify fund costs, calculate the effect of an exit load and a fund's return, and read a fund fact sheet critically.
- Describe the protections and risks of regulated funds, follow the steps to invest and redeem, and spot red flags of fake schemes.
Module 23: Real Estate and Land
Approach land and property with clear eyes: compare buying, building and renting, verify title before you pay, budget a build properly, and test whether rental income really adds up.
About 35 minutes.
- Compare buying, building and renting and calculate the total acquisition cost of property including transaction costs.
- Describe common forms of land tenure and apply a due diligence checklist to verify title and avoid land fraud.
- Plan a construction project in stages with approved plans, written contracts and a calculated contingency.
- Calculate gross and net rental yields and explain the costs, risks and tax obligations of being a landlord.
Module 24: Group Savings and Investing
Understand merry-go-rounds, savings groups, SACCOs and investment clubs, work out share-outs and loans, and learn the governance rules that keep group money safe.
About 30 minutes.
- Describe how rotating groups, accumulating savings and credit groups, SACCOs and investment clubs work and compare their strengths and risks.
- Calculate a share-out value per share and member payout, flat-rate group loan interest, and loan limits based on savings.
- Identify common governance risks in group finance and recommend controls such as a constitution, separation of duties and shared signatories.
- Evaluate a group before joining and set fair rules for running an investment club, including ownership, valuation and exit.
Module 25: Entrepreneurship and Side Income
Learn how to test a side business cheaply, price it for profit, keep business money separate from personal money, and keep simple records that help it grow.
About 30 minutes.
- Design a low-cost test of a side business idea and set a rule for deciding whether to continue.
- Calculate cost per unit, gross profit, gross margin and the break-even point for a small business.
- Explain why business and personal money must be separated and set up an owner's pay system.
- Keep a basic set of business records, calculate monthly profit and describe the steps to formalise a growing business.
Module 26: Personal Tax
Understand how employment, business and investment income are taxed, how to register and file, and how to stay compliant while planning legally.
About 35 minutes.
- Calculate income tax under a progressive band system, distinguish marginal from effective rates, and read PAYE deductions on a payslip.
- Explain the purpose of a tax identification number and identify when a tax return must be filed and instalments paid.
- Describe how small business, interest, dividend, rental and capital gains income are commonly taxed, including withholding tax.
- Distinguish legal tax planning from evasion and apply habits that keep them compliant.
Module 27: Retirement Planning
Learn how pension schemes work, estimate how much you will need in retirement, and build a plan to close any gap and protect your savings.
About 35 minutes.
- Describe the layers of retirement income and explain how defined benefit and defined contribution schemes calculate benefits.
- Estimate retirement income needs using a replacement ratio, retirement length and inflation.
- Calculate the monthly saving needed to close a retirement gap and identify suitable ways to supplement a pension.
- Explain how to protect retirement savings from early withdrawal, poor lump-sum decisions and fraud.
Module 28: Estate Planning
Learn what happens to your property when you die, how to make a valid will, how to keep beneficiary records up to date, and how to protect the people who depend on you.
About 30 minutes.
- Explain what an estate is and compare how it is handled with and without a valid will.
- List the contents and formal requirements of a valid will and explain how to store and update it.
- Distinguish next of kin from beneficiaries, review beneficiary nominations and build an asset register.
- Estimate life cover needs and describe steps that protect dependants, the family home and children's inheritance.
Module 29: Family and Money
Manage money as a couple, raise children who understand money, support extended family without sinking, and plan family goals together.
About 30 minutes.
- Compare money systems for couples, calculate proportional contributions and explain the role of transparency and documented ownership.
- Plan age-appropriate money lessons and tools for children and teenagers.
- Design a sustainable approach to extended family support, including a support budget and fair boundaries.
- Plan for predictable family costs and list the elements of a family protection plan.
Part 5: Finance for Managers and Leaders
Module 30: Finance for Non-Finance Managers
Learn to read the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement so you can ask better questions and lead with numbers.
About 35 minutes.
- Explain what each of the three financial statements shows and describe how net profit and cash link them together.
- Read an income statement and calculate gross, operating and net margins.
- Apply the accounting equation and calculate and interpret the current ratio and debt-to-equity ratio from a balance sheet.
- Interpret operating, investing and financing cash flows and explain why a profitable organisation may have little cash.
Module 31: Budgeting and Cost Control at Work
Prepare a realistic departmental budget, explain variances with confidence and control costs without hurting results.
About 35 minutes.
- Explain the purposes of a budget and compare incremental, zero-based, activity-based and rolling budgeting.
- Prepare a departmental budget using cost drivers, fixed and variable costs, full staff costs and monthly phasing.
- Calculate and classify budget variances, including against a flexed budget, and write a clear variance explanation.
- Recommend cost-control actions that reduce waste without damaging performance or internal controls.
Module 32: Financial Decision-Making
Use break-even, ROI, payback and present value to evaluate projects and purchases, then add judgement about risk and strategy.
About 40 minutes.
- Calculate contribution margin, break-even volume and margin of safety for a product, service or project.
- Calculate and interpret return on investment and payback period, and explain the limits of each.
- Discount future cash flows to present value and use net present value to compare options.
- Evaluate a project or purchase using sensitivity analysis, non-financial factors and awareness of decision traps, and present a recommendation.
Module 33: Working Capital and Cash Flow Management
Understand why profitable organisations run out of cash, measure the cash conversion cycle, forecast cash and use practical levers to stay liquid.
About 35 minutes.
- Define working capital and explain at least four reasons a profitable organisation can run out of cash.
- Calculate days sales outstanding, days inventory outstanding, days payables outstanding and the cash conversion cycle, and estimate cash released by improving them.
- Build and interpret a short-term cash flow forecast and identify funding gaps in advance.
- Recommend fair and practical actions on collections, inventory, payables and financing to improve cash flow.
Module 34: Financial Ethics and Governance
Understand governance roles, design internal controls, manage conflicts of interest and lead a culture where people speak up about financial wrongdoing.
About 35 minutes.
- Describe the governance roles of the board, audit committee, management, internal audit and external audit, and explain a leader's personal accountability.
- Explain the fraud triangle and identify internal controls, including segregation of duties, authorisation limits and reconciliations, that address specific risks.
- Recognise conflicts of interest, gifts and bribery and describe the correct steps to declare and manage them.
- Identify red flags of financial wrongdoing and describe how a leader should respond, including protecting people who speak up.
Module 35: Workplace Financial Wellness
See how employee money stress affects performance, respond to it with respect, and design fair workplace programmes and policies that help.
About 30 minutes.
- Explain at least four ways employee financial stress affects organisational performance and estimate its approximate cost.
- Recognise signs of financial stress in a team member and describe a respectful, confidential manager response.
- Design the core elements of a workplace financial wellness programme that is independent, confidential and inclusive.
- Evaluate salary advance, deduction and provider-partnership policies for fairness and legality, and choose indicators to measure programme impact.
Part 6: Capstone
Module 36: Personal Financial Plan Project
Bring the whole programme together in your own complete financial plan: goals, budget, debt strategy, savings and investment, and protection, plus a workplace case for the professional track.
About 180 minutes.
- Write SMART financial goals across short, medium and long term and justify their priority order.
- Build a balanced monthly budget from real income and spending, with a stated savings rate and tracking method.
- Design a debt strategy that lists all debts, calculates the debt-service ratio, chooses a repayment method and sets borrowing rules.
- Match each goal to suitable types of savings and investment based on time horizon, risk, liquidity and due diligence.
- Identify personal and family financial risks and plan proportionate protection, including an emergency fund, insurance and estate arrangements.
- Analyse a workplace finance case using Part 5 tools and present a clear, ethical recommendation (professional track), and keep the whole plan consistent and under review.