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SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Master of Commerce: Development Finance 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
88103  Master of Commerce: Development Finance 
ORIGINATOR
University of Cape Town 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Master's Degree  Field 03 - Business, Commerce and Management Studies  Finance, Economics and Accounting 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  180  Not Applicable  NQF Level 09  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered-data under construction  EXCO 0324/24  2024-07-01  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

Registered-data under construction

The qualification content is currently being updated for the qualifications with the status “Registered-data under construction” or showing “DETAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION” to ensure compliance with SAQA’S Policy and Criteria for the registration of qualifications and part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (As amended, 2022). These qualifications are re-registered until 30 June 2027 and can legitimately be offered by the institutions to which they are registered.

 

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:

The primary purpose of the Master of Commerce (M Com): Development Finance is to provide advanced training, at NQF level 9, in development finance to establish a platform for research into sustainable development finance. Specifically, the programme will produce a broad range of development finance experts for South Africa and the rest of Africa, who will be able to practise development finance and conduct development finance research at an advanced level.

Rationale:

The current global financial crisis has highlighted the need for a Postgraduate Degree devoted solely to our understanding of financial systems in developing and/or emerging economies.
The M Com in Development Finance at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business will provide a training and research platform for government employees at central, provincial and municipal levels, NGOs and private sector employees in financial and non-financial sector institutions. The qualification will also attract employees of development finance institutions throughout Africa and graduates from finance, economics and businesses interested in finance for development. The Degree has support from all the Development Finance Institutions in South Africa, the National Treasury, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), African Development Bank and a significant number of Development Finance Institutions throughout Africa. The market for the proposed Degree is, therefore, potentially very large. The Degree will also serve as a platform for research in development finance, which is almost non-existent at the moment on the African continent. We have conducted an Africa-wide survey on governments, development finance institutions, NGOs and private sector institutions to establish whether there is a market for the degree and there was an overwhelming support and interest in the programme. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Learners should have a good understanding of basic quantitative methods in financial mathematics and statistics, together with an understanding of finance for development.

Recognition of Prior Learning:

Recognition of Prior Learning may be granted to applicants who do not have the necessary qualifications but who have had relevant experience in the world of work and who can supply sufficient verified evidence to enable them to gain access to the qualification. Applicants will be assessed against the relevant competencies at NQF Level 8.

Access to the Qualification:

To gain admission into the programme, learners will need to have a four-year or Honours Degree in Economics, Commerce, Accounting, Finance, or any other finance-related discipline with a good quantitative background.
Alternatively, they will need to have a four-year or Honour's Degree in a non-finance-related discipline with at least three years of experience in finance-related work with a good quantitative background. 

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
Y 

QUALIFICATION RULES 
The qualification comprises nine compulsory modules, one elective module (chosen from a given selection of five) and a research report.

All the modules have 12 credits each. The research report has 60 credits.

Compulsory Modules:
  • Micro-Enterprise Finance.
  • Project Finance.
  • International Finance for Development.
  • Quantitative Methods in Development Finance.
  • Issues in Development Finance.
  • Responsible Investment.
  • Public Sector Finance.
  • Financial Risk Management.
  • Research Methods.

    Electives:

    At least one must be completed:
  • Sovereign Debt Management .
  • World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Trade Negotiations.
  • Financial Services Regulation.
  • Global Financial Architecture.
  • International Trade Policies.

    Research:
  • Research Report in a selected area. 
    		•

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. Critically analyse the techniques and procedures for financial sector development, financial management and issues on finance for development in a developing and emerging market context.

    2. Apply these techniques and procedures in a professionally competent manner.

    3. Undertake independent research and present research findings in a form that can be disseminated effectively to users.

    Critical Cross-Field Outcomes:

    All the critical cross-field outcomes are addressed in the qualification. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    The Associate Assessment Criteria apply to all of the Exit Level Outcomes.
  • Assess proposals for micro enterprise initiatives.
  • Analyse and evaluate project viability.
  • Analyse key issues in international finance development in the global context.
  • Analyse complex case studies on issues relating to international finance for development.
  • Use mathematical and statistical tools to perform financial and risk analyses.
  • Discuss the main issues in the theory of development finance and emerging markets.
  • Demonstrate a good understanding of the dynamics of financial architecture and the role it plays in linking developing, emerging and developed economies.
  • Critically examine the concepts of fiduciary duty and universal share ownership theory.
  • Discuss the link between the integration of environmental, social and governance factors and company valuation/shareholder value maximisation.
  • Explain why risk management is a critically important medium to long-term financial sustainability.
  • Conduct independent research.
  • Interpret research output and answer the research question(s).
  • Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the structures and inner working of the World Trade Organisation and International Trade Laws.
  • Discuss the multinational cost of capital and capital structure and how global firms are financed.
  • Discuss issues surrounding the interactions between market forces, market failures and regulation.
  • Critically examine the benefits of international trade as building blocks for broader trade analysis.
  • Discuss the concept of value creation through integrated financial, strategic and operational approaches.
  • Design and implement financial risk models using portfolio real life cases as a platform.
  • Apply research skills to produce an acceptable research report and present the report according to institutional requirements.

    Integrated Assessment:

    All lecturers will be expected to assess learners through a combination of approaches including final examinations, individual assignments and impromptu tests during lectures. The learners will also be expected to submit research reports for assessment. Examinations will be both internally and externally moderated. For internal moderation, all examination papers will be given to an internal lecturer with expertise in the subject area to moderate. Once the examination papers have been taken and graded, an external examiner will be required to examine the papers and file a report to the examination board. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    The Master of Commerce in Development Finance can be favourably compared with others internationally offered by different providers. The qualification may not exactly match those used for comparison, but the core modules are very similar.

    The University of Melbourne in Australia offers a Master of Commerce in Finance which could be compared with the Master's Degree from our institution.

    These are the modules that the Australian qualification consists of:

    Core subjects:
  • Foundation Finance.
  • Finance Thesis Workshop.
  • Numerical Techniques in Finance.
  • Basic Econometrics.
  • Applied Microeconomics Modelling.
  • Time Series Analysis and Forecasting.
  • Financial Econometrics.
  • Econometric Techniques.

    Choose three from Elective Subjects:
  • International Business Finance.
  • Financial Institutions Management.
  • Advanced Derivative Securities.
  • Advanced Investments.
  • Risk Strategies.
  • Financial Statement Analysis. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    Horizontal articulation:
    This Qualification articulates horizontally with a Master of Business Administration or any related field at NQF Level 9.

    Vertical articulation:
    The Qualification articulates vertically with a Doctor of Economic Science: Economics: Business Studies or any related field at NQF Level 10. 

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    The programme will be internally moderated by the Faculty Examination Committee (FEC) and the Higher Degrees Committee (HDC) in the Commerce Faculty. It will also be linked up to existing national bodies with responsibilities for moderating academic programmes.
    Personnel from the Council and other reputable academics and researchers from outside the institution will be responsible for the moderation of the programme in line with UCT's internal rules and regulations. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2015. 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of Cape Town 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.