ASISA Academy

What ASISA Academy does

ASISA Academy is a South African Non-Profit Company (NPC) that operates an independent business school delivering learning solutions to the country's savings, investment, and life insurance industries. Founded in 2007 as part of the broader ASISA (Association for Savings and Investment South Africa) group alongside the ASISA Foundation and ASISA Enterprise and Supplier Development, the Academy is headquartered in Cape Town with a regional office in Johannesburg and operates with 11-50 employees.

The Academy's product set spans four pillars: (1) Retirement Fund Trustee Education (RFTE), a Batseta-CPD-accredited workshop programme covering governance, investments, and member benefits, delivered online to South African trustees and principal officers on a fully-funded basis; (2) fee-bearing professional short courses co-delivered with the University of Cape Town in life insurance claims, investment management, collective investment schemes, and equity analysis, priced between R15,050 and R35,849 plus VAT; (3) short professional sprints such as the 'AI in Life Insurance' course; and (4) consumer financial literacy programmes — including WageWise, FLAME, Build Up, and SWW L+EARN #SecureTheBag — delivered through ASISA Foundation partnerships with employers, trade unions, TVET colleges, and Sanlam, Coronation, and ECIC sponsorship.

The underlying delivery infrastructure combines an MS Teams/Zoom-based RFTE workshop layer with a mobile-first, gamified, microlearning digital platform implemented through third-party partner Digemy, layered with radio and short-form video outreach via Power FM, Gagasi FM, Heart FM, and TikTok. The business model is a hybrid of sponsor-funded foundation programmes and fee-bearing professional courses, with non-trustee workshop seats paid at R2,125 plus VAT; revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. Cumulative reach exceeds 150,000 participants across all nine South African provinces, with almost 40,000 reached in FY2024/2025 and 2,032 TVET students added through the 2025 L+EARN digital pilot.

Name

ASISA Academy

Legal name

ASISA Academy NPC

Website

https://asisa.org.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ASISA Academy is a South African non-profit business school that delivers CPD-accredited training and short courses for the savings, investment, and life insurance industries, alongside consumer financial literacy programmes such as WageWise, FLAME, Build Up, and L+EARN #SecureTheBag for workers, micro-enterprises, students, and co-operatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Workshop fees for non-trustees: Non-trustees and non-principal officers pay fees to attend RFTE workshops. The ASISA Academy delivers engaging, online, CPD points-bearing workshops with fees charged to non-trustees who wish to attend.
2. Short course fees: Short courses offered in partnership with UCT are priced at various levels (R15,050 to R35,849 + VAT) and delivered online over specified periods.
3. Fully-funded trustee education: RFTE workshops are delivered on a fully-funded basis to South African Trustees and Principal Officers through grand funding from sponsors and the ASISA Foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ASISA Academy is an independent business school delivering CPD-accredited learning solutions for the savings, investment, and life insurance industry. It provides retirement fund trustee education workshops, professional short courses in partnership with the University of Cape Town, and digital financial literacy programmes for students, workers, micro-enterprise owners, and co-operative members. The Academy is part of the ASISA (Association for Savings and Investment South Africa) non-profit ecosystem.

Product overview

ASISA Academy is an independent business school offering high quality learning solutions designed and delivered by savings and investment industry experts. The Academy operates primarily as a platform-plus-programmes model consisting of: (1) Retirement Fund Trustee Education (RFTE) workshops - CPD points-bearing courses for trustees and principal officers covering governance, member benefits, and investments topics, delivered via MS Teams/Zoom; (2) Short Courses offered in partnership with UCT including Life Insurance Claims Assessors, Investment Management Industry, Collective Investment Schemes, and Equity Analyst programmes; (3) Professional sprints such as AI in Life Insurance; and (4) Digital learning programmes like SWW L+EARN SecureTheBag for students. The Academy also partners with the ASISA Foundation which delivers related consumer financial education programmes (WageWise, FLAME, Build Up) targeting workers, micro-enterprise owners, and community groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retirement Fund Trustee Education (RFTE) CPD points-bearing workshop programme providing retirement fund trustees and principal officers with training on fiduciary and governance duties, investments, and member benefits, delivered online via MS Teams or Zoom on a fully-funded basis.
• Foundations for Retirement Fund Trustees A six-week foundational course providing trustees with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to fulfil fiduciary and governance duties, delivered online in 3-hour sessions.
• UCT Life Insurance Claims Assessors Short Course A professional short course offered in partnership with UCT for aspiring and current claims assessors in the South African life insurance industry, priced at R35,849 + VAT.
• UCT Investment Management Industry (IMI) Short Course A professional short course offered in partnership with UCT covering investment management industry knowledge and practices, priced at R20,200 + VAT.
• UCT Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) Short Course A professional short course offered in partnership with UCT covering collective investment schemes, priced at R15,050 + VAT.
• Equity Analyst Short Course A professional short course covering equity analysis methodologies and practices, priced at R15,405 + VAT.
• AI in Life Insurance Sprint A focused sprint course covering AI applications in life insurance, ranging from automation to autonomous operations.
• SWW L+EARN SecureTheBag Digital financial education programme for TVET college and university students covering budgeting, credit management, savings, and the world of work, delivered via mobile-first gamified platform with bite-sized modules.
• WageWise Consumer financial education programme targeting South African workers to help them manage current and future income better, covering budgeting, retirement planning, and credit management, delivered through employers and trade unions.
• FLAME (Financial Literacy and Micro-Enterprise) Entrepreneurship training and support programme for micro-enterprise owners in township and rural areas with businesses generating less than R1 million revenue per year, using an accredited business development methodology.
• Build Up Financial literacy training for members of organised community structures such as housing co-operatives and agricultural co-operatives who share common financial goals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 88% average quiz score in L+EARN digital pilot
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015NUM partnered with Sanlam Foundation and ASISA Foundation to develop and deliver Project Qaphela financial literacy project for NUM members in mining, energy, and construction sectors.
• DigemycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDigemy implemented the SWW L+EARN #SecureTheBag Digital Pilot using their award-winning, mobile-first, gamified learning platform. Their approach tackles the forgetting curve where up to 80% of learning is lost within 24 hours.
• DNA EconomicscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDNA Economics conducted independent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) for the L+EARN SecureTheBag Digital Pilot to measure outcomes, impact, and learner performance.
• BatsetacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBatseta is a strategic partner providing CPD accreditation for ASISA Academy's Retirement Fund Trustee Education workshops.
• IRFA (Institute of Retirement Funds Africa)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIRFA is a strategic relationship partner for RFTE programme delivery and development.
• Atleha-educoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAtleha-edu collaborates with ASISA Foundation for production of publications and engagements on topics relevant to retirement fund trustees such as climate change and alternative investments.
• University of Cape Town (UCT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCT partners with ASISA Academy to deliver short courses including Life Insurance Claims Assessors, Investment Management Industry, Collective Investment Schemes, and Equity Analyst programmes.
• TVET CollegescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with TVET colleges including Ekurhuleni West TVET, Ikhala TVET, Elangeni TVET, West Coast TVET, and Orbit TVET for delivery of L+EARN SecureTheBag digital financial education pilot.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School of Management: UCT's business school and a strategic partner of ASISA Academy for short course delivery. Comparable as a top-tier SA business school serving financial services professionals.
• Milpark Education: South African private higher education institution offering accredited business, financial planning, and investment management programmes. Closest direct competitor in the SA financial services professional education space.
• Wits Business School: Major South African business school offering MBA, executive education, and financial services-related programmes; competes for the same mid-career professional cohort.
• Regenesys Business School: South African private business school offering management and leadership programmes with strong corporate training and CPD offerings, competing for the same professional development budgets.
• Stellenbosch Business School: Top-tier South African business school with executive development and short courses in investment and financial management, overlapping with ASISA Academy's professional market.
• Mancosa: South African private higher education institution with a broad business and management portfolio, including financial services-adjacent programmes, targeting working professionals.
• Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS): Leading South African business school offering executive education and short courses; a primary alternative for corporate training budgets in financial services.

Broad incumbents

• Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI): South Africa's professional body for financial planners, offering certification, CPD, and practitioner education that overlaps with the Academy's professional development market.
• Batseta: Industry body and CPD accreditation partner for retirement funds in South Africa. While a strategic partner of ASISA Academy, it also coordinates trustee training and conferences that overlap with RFTE content.
• Institute of Retirement Funds Africa (IRFA): Industry association for retirement funds in Africa providing training, events, and education for trustees and principal officers - directly overlapping with ASISA Academy's RFTE audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/asisa_za
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ASISAcademy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-for-savings-&-investment-south-africa

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ASISA Academy