CFI Financial Aid

1. Describe your financial situation and why you are applying for financial aid. (200-300 words)*

While writing this application, I am pushed to reflect on past events and occurrences that have
happened many years ago, living conditions I despise growing up as a child. When I reflect, I see all
the instances in which I was not at par with my colleagues due to the socioeconomic status of my
family. I promise myself to work on my personal development tirelessly and build a life for my family
and my community to benefit from.

I need financial assistance to pursue my interest and desire to build a career in finance because I am
a low-income student. I received limited financial assistance due to low family income. To reduce
family burden, I agreed with my parents to look after themselves while I sort myself out after I
completed university. Since then, the pressure to cater to basic things of life has been mounting up,
especially for me living in a fast-paced city like Lagos, Nigeria.

However, with a high rate of quality education, I am facing more challenges in financial need
because I have a strong desire for knowledge addition and upskilling as an individual. These courses
are major and crucial to my career. Unfortunately, the financial burden may increase stress and even
delay or inhibit me from taking the course at all. Therefore, I would greatly appreciate a helping
hand so that I can successfully obtain this certification.

2. What achievements (academic or professional) are you most proud of? (200-300 words)*

When I was much younger, I never had a defined goal or dream of what I wanted to become,
because my environment was so limiting and it did not give me a lot of choices to pick from. But one
thing I had always had inside of me, deeply rooted, was the desire and hunger for more and to be
amongst the best.

I was always amongst the top of my class, (top 2), from junior school to finishing the university as the
second-best student of my class of 100 students with a CGPA of 4.45 of 5.0. I made a switch from a
visionless life to a focus-driven life when I started my first business, a network marketing business. It
was at this time in 2015 I first heard about personal development and I went over the board with it.
The self-discovery and awareness journey was so intriguing and exciting that I read 52 audiobooks in
the year 2016. I challenged in 2017, in the first 2 months, I had read 52 books.

At this point, I became like a mentor to people because I had content and knowledge to share with
them. I motivated some folks also to pick up a book and read. I even organised seminars and
conferences and had speakers talk to us. My personal development is the hallmark of any success I
have experienced in life as at this time, I am grateful for the gift of life, regardless of where I came
from, I am way above and ahead of that low place.

The business did not work out but the joy was in the daily progress and the journey to becoming
something valuable to the society.

3. Explain why you want to take CFI training and how it will benefit your career.

After graduating from university, I move to a fast-paced city named Lagos. I started to hear
conversations about the money market and how the finance industry was the biggest industry
because everything revolves around finance. It sparked up my interest and I started to research how
I can start a career in finance with the best institution and also getting the best value of education.

From my extensive research, I concluded that the Corporate Finance Institute (CFI) provides the best
online courses for us who are willing to build a career in finance-related roles like financial and
investment analysts. When I went through the curriculum of the program for the first time, I was
overwhelmed and excited about what I was in for.

I am fully persuaded that this program would launch my career into another level and I would be
equipped with relevant information and I would be conversant with finance terminology. At the
beginning of the decade, I set a decade long career plan to land an executive role at the end of the
decade. I researched it and I found out that professionals who eventually navigate their career to the
C and D suite have strong finance and analytics foundation. These are the basis of the FMVA
program.
Coursera Financial Aid

I am a graduate of Agriculture from the Federal University of Agriculture in Nigeria and I don't have
any special source of income. Currently, I am serving my country under a one-year compulsory
scheme and our income is at less than $60 monthly. So, I am badly in need of this financial aid. I
want to take this course as I want to learn more about Business, Management, and Finance and
Investment.

A verified certificate will attach credibility to the certificate I receive from this course. I plan to
complete all assignments on or before time as I have done in previous Signature Track Courses. Also,
I intend to participate in Discussion Forums, which I have found to supplement my learning
immensely in the other online courses I have taken on Coursera. I also plan to grade assignments
that are to peer-reviewed which I believe will an invaluable learning opportunity.

I will abide by the Honour Code and the Code of Conduct. When I eventually land a good high-paying
job, I will pay for courses on Coursera.

I developed a strong interest in Business, Management, and Finance and Investment, and I would
love to gain more knowledge as a finance professional so I can land a finance role and sometime in
future pursue and MBA with finance specialization or a CFA program.

This course will boost my job prospects and show my readiness to learn to any prospective employer
after completing my service year. It will help perform better in understanding and learning on the
subject of finance. This course would also add more professional relevance to my CV helping me gain
credibility with a prospective employer.

I desire to add up more knowledge and skills during my service period to become more competitive
during my job search but finance is a big limiting factor for me. I don't have money to afford
certification in Nigeria here and my family income low.

I also intend to pursue more finance-related certification with Coursera.

EdX Financial aid

1. Tell us about your current financial situation. Why do you need assistance?

While writing this application, I am pushed to reflect on past events and occurrences that have
happened many years ago, living conditions I despise growing up as a child. When I reflect, I see all
the instances in which I was not at par with my colleagues due to the socioeconomic status of my
family. I promise myself to work on my personal development tirelessly and build a life for my family
and my community to benefit from.

I recently graduated from a federal university in Nigeria in 2018, Federal University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta where I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science. Immediately after my
graduation, I relocated to an entirely different state where I currently live now not knowing anyone
or having a relative to stay with. I decided to have a first-hand experience of life, which was my
major motivation for living in a big city. After a little while, all the money I saved up as a student was
completed exhausted and I was broke.

I need financial assistance to pursue my interest and desire to build a career in finance because I am
a low-income student. I received limited financial assistance due to low family income. To reduce
family burden, I agreed with my parents to look after themselves while I sort myself out after I
completed university. Since then, the pressure to cater to basic things of life has been mounting up,
especially for me living in a fast-paced city like Lagos, Nigeria.

Also, since I graduated from university, I barely receive any form of parental support as they expect
that I can care for myself and get the things I need one way or another.

Receiving financial assistance will enable me to take this course without an adverse impact on my
monthly essential needs and survival requirements.

However, with a high rate of quality education, I am facing more challenges in financial need
because I have a strong desire for knowledge addition and upskilling as an individual. These courses
are major and crucial to my career. Unfortunately, the financial burden may increase stress and even
delay or inhibit me from taking the course at all. Therefore, I would greatly appreciate a helping
hand so that I can successfully obtain this certification.

Currently, I earn about $600 annually which is barely sufficient to cover my basic needs.

2. Tell us about your learning or professional goals. How will a Verified Certificate in this
course help you achieve these goals?

I developed a strong interest in finance and investment, and I would love to gain more knowledge as
a finance professional so I can land a finance role and sometime in future pursue and MBA with
finance specialization or a CFA program.

This course will boost my job prospects and show my readiness to learn to any prospective employer
after completing my service year. It will help perform better in understanding and learning on the
subject of finance. This course would also add more professional relevance to my CV helping me gain
credibility with a prospective employer.
I desire to add up more knowledge and skills during my service period to become more competitive
during my job search but finance is a big limiting factor for me. I don't have money to afford
certification in Nigeria here and my family income low.

I am fully persuaded that this program would launch my career into another level and I would be
equipped with relevant information and I would be conversant with finance terminology. At the
beginning of the decade, I set a decade long career plan to land an executive role at the end of the
decade.

The verified certificate in this course is a considerable step in that direction since it contains key
material that is not available in the audited version of the course. It would also strengthen my
resume, increasing the chances of securing a job in the appropriate field and accumulating relevant
work experience.

I also intend to pursue more finance-related certification with edX.

3. Tell us about your plans for this course. What steps will you take to help you complete the
course work and receive a certificate?

I plan to give the course proper attention by spending 5-6 hours daily to complete my assignment
promptly. I would also participate in discussion forums to bond with classmates and create
formidable relationships that would be beneficial for the future. I strongly believe that my
relationship with my fellow students would be a motivation to remain active and engaged in the
course.

I plan to treat this course with all seriousness as any other academic pursuit, committing and
dedicating my time to exploring and understanding the course material and graded assignments.
Due to my passion for Finance, I will also create time to complement the course with personal
reading and research on every topic discussed to strengthen my knowledge in the given area.

Upon completion of this course, the moment I receive my certificate, I would share it on my social
media status to encourage those in my network to pay more attention to their professional
development to thereby enable them to live a better life for themselves and their family.

Finally, I would like to thank both edX and whoever is considering my application for allowing me to
apply for financial assistance, obtain a certificate, and ultimately become a better person and
professional, improve my standard of living, and hopefully give some of this knowledge back to the
world.