Bachelor of Science in Digital Finance and Financial Technology
East Africa built the world's most consequential mobile money systems and then trained almost nobody to run the next generation of them. Payments, digital lending, embedded finance and digital assets now form one of the region's largest emp...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Financial technology analyst
- payments product analyst
- credit risk and scoring analyst
- treasury and liquidity analyst
- financial crime and compliance analyst
- digital lending operations specialist
- financial data analyst
- financial services product manager.
Employer types
- Commercial banks and microfinance institutions
- mobile money and payment service providers
- digital lenders and insurers
- central bank and financial regulators
- card schemes and switches
- financial technology start ups
- development finance institutions
- and remittance firms.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- One of the strongest and best paid graduate markets in the region, with high demand for credit analytics and compliance skills and significant international remote demand.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Digital Finance and Financial Technology. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| DBF 110 | Financial Accounting and Reporting Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| DBF 111 | Principles of Finance and Financial Mathematics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| DBF 112 | Programming and Data Handling for Finance Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| DBF 113 | Money, Banking and Financial Systems Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| DBF 130 | Corporate Finance and Valuation Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| DBF 131 | Statistics and Financial Econometrics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| DBF 132 | Payments, Mobile Money and Settlement Systems Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| DBF 133 | Financial Regulation and Compliance Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| DBF 210 | Credit Risk Modelling and Alternative Data Scoring Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| DBF 211 | Financial Technology Sandbox Practicum Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| DBF 212 | Digital Assets, Blockchain and Tokenised Finance Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| DBF 213 | Insurance, Pensions and Digital Insurtech Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| DBF 230 | Financial Crime, Fraud Analytics and Anti-Money-Laundering Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| DBF 231 | Treasury, Liquidity and Market Operations Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| DBF 310 | Machine Learning for Financial Services Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| DBF 311 | Financial Inclusion, Consumer Protection and Responsible Lending Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| DBF 330 | Financial Technology Capstone: Institutional Commission (client verified) Performance | 8 | 0-2-14 |
| DBF 331 | Financial Product Design, Pricing and Unit Economics Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
Total credit units: 133
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Digital Finance and Financial Technology
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 23 CU
Cumulative
23
Programme total
132
23 CU of 132 CU completed by the end of this step (17%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems Fluency CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual Judgement CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C6Technical Production and CraftLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems ThinkingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning · Ethical and Contextual Judgement · Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Apply financial mathematics, accounting and valuation to financial products and decisions.
- PLO 2Design and analyse payment flows, settlement and reconciliation in a real payment system.
- PLO 3Build and validate credit scoring and risk models on alternative and traditional data.
- PLO 4Apply financial regulation, anti-money-laundering and consumer protection obligations.
- PLO 5Analyse digital asset and blockchain systems and their financial and legal characteristics.
- PLO 6Detect and investigate financial crime patterns using data.
- PLO 7Design financial products for low income and unbanked customers responsibly.
Why this programme exists
East Africa built the world's most consequential mobile money systems and then trained almost nobody to run the next generation of them. Payments, digital lending, embedded finance and digital assets now form one of the region's largest emp...
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes including Mathematics or Economics, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics and English. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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