We are dedicated to positioning ourselves as a leading global authority in research and training across the sectors of banking, insurance, finance, investment, and risk management, as well as in the development finance arena. We leverage the expertise of a distinguished faculty and collaborate with international scholars to provide comprehensive support for master's and doctoral (M&D) studies that enhance these vital disciplines. We expect the knowledge produced through these partnerships with our M&D candidates to closely align with UNISA’s 10 catalytic niche areas. Further, we are committed to advancing the goals of the National Development Plan, fostering the knowledge economy, and contributing to the strategic objectives set forth in Africa's Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Department offers supervision in the following seven Research Focus Areas (RFA’s):
This research focus area explores the complex world of crowdfunding within the growing field of Financial Technology (FinTech) and its connection to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The goal is to study the factors that influence crowdfunding behaviour and its socio-economic effects, specifically examining how trust-building strategies, motivations, and investor actions differ across models such as equity and lending crowdfunding.
Key research themes include:
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The convergence of FinTech and financial inclusion plays a vital role in enhancing Africa's socio-economic landscape. This research focus area examines how innovative financial technologies can improve access to banking and insurance for marginalised populations, aligning with the Africa Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Key thematic areas for research include:
Exploring mobile banking, blockchain, and crowdfunding as tools for better service delivery and transparency.
Analysing FinTech regulations, the role of central banks, and policy recommendations for financial inclusion strategies.
Assessing FinTech's impact on women's financial access through case studies and promoting digital financial literacy.
Investigating how FinTech is reshaping traditional banking models and improving insurance penetration.
Identifying cultural barriers to digital service adoption and strategies to enhance acceptance.
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Financial markets and investments represent a critical area of study within finance, encompassing the mechanisms, institutions, and instruments that facilitate capital allocation and risk management. Research in this domain explores the behaviour of market participants, asset pricing dynamics, investment strategies, market efficiency, financial regulations, the impact of technological advancements on trading and investment processes, and the influence of international Capital Flows on Capital Markets Development and vice versa.
The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) remains a foundational concept in financial markets research. Studies investigate the degree to which asset prices reflect all available information and whether anomalies exist that challenge EMH. Asset pricing models such as the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT), and multifactor models are frequently examined to assess their predictive power and relevance in contemporary markets.
Research in investment strategies focuses on optimal asset allocation, risk-return trade-offs, and portfolio diversification techniques. Topics include passive vs. active investment management, factor investing, behavioural biases in investment decision-making, and the role of alternative assets (e.g., cryptocurrencies, private equity, and real estate) in portfolio construction.
Behavioural finance challenges traditional rationality assumptions by incorporating psychological and cognitive biases into financial decision-making. Studies in this area analyse how investor sentiment, overconfidence, loss aversion, and heuristics impact market movements, asset mispricing, and investment behaviour.
Market structure research examines the organisation, functioning, and regulation of financial markets. Topics include market liquidity, high-frequency trading (HFT), order-flow dynamics, and price-discovery mechanisms. The effects of algorithmic trading, dark pools, and decentralised finance (DeFi) on market efficiency and stability are also emerging areas of interest.
Understanding risk management techniques is essential for investors and financial institutions. Research in this domain covers derivative instruments (options, futures, swaps), hedging strategies, Value-at-Risk (VaR) models, and stress testing methodologies. The impact of financial crises on risk assessment and the evolution of risk management frameworks are also studied extensively.
Regulatory research examines how policies affect market stability, investor protection, and corporate governance. Key topics include the effects of financial regulations (e.g., Basel III, Dodd-Frank Act), the role of central banks, systemic risk, and the governance mechanisms that influence firm performance and shareholder value.
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With the rise in technology, digital literacy is being adopted in various fields like applied economics and finance. Notwithstanding, research in this area is still at a nascent stage. Financial socialisation research is very broad, as it covers family, peers, and financial education research.
Personal finance is the management of an individual’s financial activities, including budgeting, saving, investing, and planning for future financial goals. It involves making decisions about how to allocate income, manage expenses, and build financial security through various financial instruments. Key components of personal finance include creating a budget, managing debt, investing for long-term growth, planning for retirement, and ensuring adequate insurance coverage to protect against unforeseen financial setbacks. Effective personal finance management helps individuals achieve financial stability and independence.
The field of personal finance is essential because it empowers individuals to make informed decisions that directly impact their quality of life. By mastering personal finance skills, individuals can avoid debt traps, build wealth, and prepare for life’s uncertainties. In a world of complex financial products and rapidly changing economic conditions, understanding personal finance helps people make sound choices, from selecting the right investment options to managing credit responsibly. As a result, personal finance education has become increasingly important in fostering financial well-being and long-term security.
Behavioural finance is the study of how psychological factors and cognitive biases influence financial decision-making. Unlike traditional finance, which assumes that individuals are rational actors making logical choices, behavioural finance acknowledges that emotions, biases, and social influences can lead to irrational financial behaviours. Key concepts in behavioural finance include loss aversion, overconfidence, herd behaviour, and mental accounting. These psychological insights help explain why people might hold onto losing stocks too long, follow market trends without analysis, or make impulsive investment decisions.
The importance of behavioural finance lies in its ability to bridge the gap between economic theory and real-world financial behaviour. By understanding the irrational tendencies that influence financial choices, investors, financial advisors, and policymakers can develop strategies to mitigate the negative effects of these biases. For example, recognising the tendency for loss aversion can help in designing investment portfolios that minimise emotional reactions to short-term losses. As financial markets become more complex, incorporating behavioural finance into decision-making can lead to more resilient, rational investment strategies.
Financial socialisation is the process through which individuals acquire the knowledge, attitudes, values, and behaviours related to money management from their social environment. This process typically begins in childhood and continues throughout life, influenced by parents, peers, educational institutions, media, and personal experiences. Through financial socialisation, individuals learn how to handle money, develop financial habits, and form attitudes towards saving, spending, and investing. The quality and nature of financial socialisation significantly shape one’s financial literacy and capability in adulthood.
The importance of financial socialisation lies in its impact on long-term financial behaviour and well-being. Positive financial socialisation, such as receiving consistent guidance on budgeting and saving, can lead to responsible financial habits and greater financial security. Conversely, inadequate or negative socialisation can result in poor financial decisions and financial instability. Understanding how financial attitudes and behaviours are shaped can help educators, parents, and policymakers design more effective financial education initiatives that foster responsible financial practices from a young age.
Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, investing, and understanding financial risks. It equips individuals with the knowledge to make informed financial decisions, enabling them to manage their finances responsibly and plan for the future. As financial systems become increasingly complex, financial literacy helps people navigate banking, investing, debt management, and retirement planning with confidence and competence.
The importance of financial literacy lies in its impact on both individual well-being and the broader economy. Financially literate individuals are better prepared to make sound decisions, such as managing debt, saving for emergencies, and investing wisely. This not only enhances their financial stability but also contributes to economic resilience at a societal level. As financial literacy rates improve, communities can experience lower poverty levels, greater economic growth, and greater financial independence for citizens.
Digital literacy is the ability to navigate, evaluate, and create information effectively and critically using digital technologies. It encompasses a wide range of skills, including using digital devices, software applications, and online platforms to communicate, access information, and perform tasks. Digital literacy also involves understanding how to use the internet safely and responsibly, including managing digital identities, protecting personal data, and identifying credible sources of information in an increasingly digital world.
The importance of digital literacy has grown significantly as technology continues to transform education, work, and daily life. Being digitally literate enables individuals to participate fully in the digital economy, access online learning resources, and engage in social and professional networks. Moreover, digital literacy empowers individuals to critically assess digital content, avoid misinformation, and make informed decisions in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. As society becomes more digitally interconnected, fostering digital literacy is essential for personal development and active citizenship.
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Risk management as a research focus area involves the identification, assessment, monitoring and control of risks in various contexts and the impact of those risks. This area focuses on developing models, tools and strategies to understand risk in dynamic environments and guide decision-making processes. Key topics include risk assessment methods, risk communication, mitigation strategies and the role of uncertainty. The ultimate goal is to optimise outcomes and ensure resilience in the face of uncertainty whether in projects, businesses or the broader societal systems.
Operational risk management centres on identifying, assessing and mitigating risks arising from an organisation's internal processes, systems, people and external events that could disrupt its operations. The field explores how organisations can prevent, manage and recover from operational disruptions such as systems failure, fraud, human error, regulatory changes and natural disasters. Studies investigate frameworks and tools to detect potential risks that could impact operational efficiency, design strategies and controls to reduce the likelihood or impact of identified risks, create models to quantify risks, investigate the role of risk culture and governance in shaping how risks are identified and management and studies how organisations can prepare and respond to operational disruptions for long term resilience.
ERM examines the systematic approach organisations use to identify, assess, manage and monitor all types of risks across the organisation. It aims to create value and enhance decision-making. ERM is a holistic framework that integrates risk management into the organisational culture, strategy and processes. Studies in this field develop comprehensive models to identify and categorise risks that could impact the organisation, explore how risks from various departments are integrated into the enterprise-wide risk management strategy, investigate how risk management informs strategic planning, decision-making and long-term organisational resilience, research methods for continuous monitoring of risks and ensuring transparency in risk reporting to stakeholders.
This focuses on methods, frameworks, and best practices for communicating risk information within the organisation and to external stakeholders. Effective risk reporting is crucial for ensuring that decision-makers are well-informed about potential risks, their impact and how they are being managed. Studies in this field focus on improving how risk data is presented, understood and aligned with stakeholders' needs, investigating standardised frameworks and methodologies for risk reporting, developing and refining key risk indicators (KRI) and performance metrics to quantify and measure risks, focusing on how organisations report risk, and examining how risk reporting can be integrated in the strategic decision-making process.
The focus area explores the risks that arise from outside the organisation, often beyond its control, which significantly impact the organisation's operations, strategy and financial health. These risks are influenced by external events, trends and developments in the broader environment. Research in this area aims to understand and anticipate these external threats better and provide organisations with strategies for mitigating and adapting to their effects. Studies explore how organisations can manage the uncertainty associated with emerging technologies, the risks and impacts, how to adapt to environmental risks and incorporate sustainability into risk management, how social dynamics and corporate social responsibility affect risk exposure, and how to mitigate reputational risks.
The business environment has been very turbulent and fluid of late. Corporate fraud is on the rise, and issues of governance and ethical considerations are salient features of the collapse web. Governance risk management revolves around identifying and encouraging best practices in how corporations are run. The field touches on issues of corporate culture, ethical practices and governance issues as they impact both organisational performance and reporting.
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International and Development Finance, in the form of foreign capital flows, including official aid and infrastructure finance, play an integral part in all economies and organisations, whether in the public or private sector, large and small businesses alike, as well as in the lives of individuals. As such, it covers foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign portfolio investment (FPI), official development assistance (ODA), remittances, sustainable (ESG) finance, infrastructure finance, development finance, carbon finance, and trade finance. Moderating aspects include financial market development, institutional quality and governance factors, technology, gender, and economic growth. The research scope for this RFA is thus broad, with a specific interest in addressing challenges encountered within Africa and the Global South. We are keen on studies that seek to propose workable solutions applicable to the African or developing/ emerging market context, and must incorporate at least some aspects of the SDGs. In terms of the UNISA Catalytic Niche Areas (CNAs), prospective studies must fall into one or more of the following categories:
Development Finance seeks to promote economic inclusion by assessing and formulating new and innovative approaches to financial capital and investment at a local, national, regional and global level. The African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the main frameworks formulated to guide development in the next two decades. The African Union’s (AU) focus is on development on a broad front, including economic, social, political, scientific, and cultural aspects within the continent. We thus concern ourselves with economic growth and development, microfinance, financial inclusion, infrastructure finance, energy finance, carbon finance, blue economic activity, micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) finance and development, sustainable development, international finance for development (e.g. ODA, FDI, ODA, remittances and so on), the AfCFTA agreement, South-South trade, and other similar topics. Assessing inter-relationships amongst key variables in this research focus area will enable our studies to remain relevant and value-adding to the academic sector and affected communities, policy-makers and industry practitioners.
Studies will consider the various forms of international finance and international organisations. Modes of entry by multi-national companies (MNCs), determinants of capital flows (FDI, FPI, ODA, remittances and other flows), and the role of international capital flows are among the broad research areas. Inter-relationships and causality amongst variables need to be assessed to better appreciate how the improvement of one can impact the others, thus facilitating appropriate policy formulation. Country case studies, panel studies, comparative studies, and those considering the AfCFTA, AGOA, bilateral and multilateral trade agreements are highly encouraged.
This caters for general corporate financial management. Organisations, over the short term, must manage their profitability, liquidity and solvency effectively, and over the long term to, keep their cost of capital as low as possible and to ensure their return exceeds their cost of capital if they wish to increase their share price which determines shareholder wealth, as well as ensure firm’s economic (financial) sustainability. The ability or capacity of a firm to conduct its operations in a manner that will achieve its financial objectives, without compromising the ability of future generations to benefit from the firm is pivotal to its survival and business continuity. Thus, Sustainability encompasses leadership, governance, ethics (morality), internal control, organisational culture, stakeholder engagement, business models, productivity, risk management, business continuity management, compliance management and business rescue
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The Sustainable Finance and Investment research focus area aims to comprehensively explore the integration of sustainable practices across financial systems and sectors, with the ultimate goal of fostering social equity, environmental stewardship, and economic growth. This research will address several key themes:
This theme will investigate a range of novel financial mechanisms, including green bonds, social impact bonds, and blended finance models. The research will explore how these instruments can mobilize capital for projects that yield positive environmental and social outcomes across multiple sectors, including renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and urban development.
A standalone theme focused on incorporating ESG factors into investment decisions. This will involve analysing how adherence to ESG criteria can enhance risk management and long-term returns for investors while promoting responsible business practices. The research will also examine the impact of ESG investing on corporate behaviour and its role in driving sustainable development.
The research will investigate the role of conducive public policies and regulatory environments in promoting sustainable finance. This includes analysing how government incentives, guidelines, and regulations can drive investment flows toward sustainable projects and encourage private-sector participation in sustainability initiatives.
An exploration of how behavioural factors influence investor decision-making in the context of sustainable finance. This theme will examine the motivations and biases that shape investment choices and how understanding these factors can enhance engagement in sustainable investments.
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Prospective students should ensure that they meet the minimum admission requirements for their intended qualification. This department offers the following programmes:
The admission requirements for these qualifications are available on the M&D Qualifications page.
The student is expected to make suggestions regarding the specific subject or field in which they would like to research within the Department’s Research Focus Areas. They need to research what has been done on the topic and whether there is a gap in the research they wish to address in their studies. Students are required to submit a detailed research outline with their application. It is strongly advisable to consult the Research Focus Area leader or a prospective supervisor (whose details appear on the Research Focus Area) for guidance on topic selection, before you finalise your research outline.
To ensure consistency in the formatting of Concept Notes/Research Proposals submitted with your applications, we kindly request that you use this template. If you choose another format, you may miss a critical aspect that needs to be assessed and might not be admitted to pursue a postgraduate degree in the Department.
As per the Standard Operating Procedures approved by the Higher Degrees Committee in the Department of Finance, Risk Management and Banking, this template is applicable for the following degrees:
The concept note/ research proposal (no more than 7-10 pages, maximum) should cover the following:
NB: The page limit excludes the cover page and list of references.
We are interested in well-articulated expressions that demonstrate a clear research focus and understanding of the research topic.
Plagiarism of any form is unacceptable. Research outlines that are suspected of containing any form of plagiarism will be rejected.
Technical Requirements for Research Outline
The Department needs to consider all the M&D applications based on the following selection criteria:
Last modified: 2026/02/13