Nigerian tech incubation platform, Instig Labs, has teamed up with leading open-source investment research software platform, OpenBB, and quantitative asset management firm, Pav Finance, to provide free investment research training for intending financial analysts. The project curriculum involves five weeks of intensive online training by seasoned facilitators. It commences November 6th 2023 with online classes on the fundamentals of finance.
According to Michael Osumo, Program Manager at Instig Labs, the program is designed to help participants conduct investment research using Python and OpenBB, an open-source platform for financial data analysis.
“The Python curriculum is based on the JP Morgan Chase Python training program. Participants will learn how to use Python to access, manipulate, analyze and visualize financial data from various sources, such as stock prices, earnings reports, financial statements, macroeconomic indicators and more,” said Osumo.
Didier Lopes, founder of OpenBB, has a vision to make investment research accessible to everyone. Together with his innovative team, they have built OpenBB terminal into a collaborative platform for financial analysis. With the rise of AI, they have built AskOBB which allows the use of natural language for data retrieval and integrated TimeGPT – the first generative AI model for temporal data from Nixtla. While the company continues to innovate, Didier maintains the vision of OpenBB as “an open-source ecosystem to democratize investment research”.
Kalu Arunsi, Quant Researcher & Strategist at PAV Finance, believes in the increasing impact of data and technology on finance.
“PAV is a hedge fund startup that utilizes data, math and good old engineering to create above-market returns while trading and investing for its clients,” said Arunsi, who is also a facilitator in the upcoming investment research training.
Arunsi added that, “with useful data and the techniques and technology to analyses them, we can achieve amazing results in terms of accurate insights that will guide our financial decisions.”
Paul Onyeka, another facilitator in the program who is an ex-banker, said the digital technology skills will provide a huge advantage for those who are already in finance and business-related fields.
“There are few tailor-made curricula for finance professionals transitioning into tech. It is either it is wholly finance or technology, not the combination. This free program provides an ample opportunity to maximize this advantage.” Said Onyeka, who will be teaching the basics of economics, finance, and accounting.
