Oasis

About Oasis

Oasis Group Holdings is a financial services group based in Cape Town. It was founded in 1997 and manages money for individuals and institutions. Its Oasis Crescent brand is best known for Sharia-compliant and ethical investment funds, including unit trusts and retirement products. The head office is Oasis House on Upper Roodebloem Road in University Estate.

The group has offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. It also has an offshore presence in Ireland. Like other asset managers, it works under the oversight of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.

How Oasis supports students

Fund management needs actuaries, accountants, analysts and law and technology specialists. These skills are scarce, and Sharia-compliant investing is a narrow niche within them. For that reason, Oasis runs a bursary aimed at widening the skills base in South Africa. It also wants to reward hard work and achievement.

Past calls have covered Bachelor of Business Science, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science degrees. Specialisations have included finance, economics, accounting, actuarial science, analytics, psychology, information systems and computer science. Law degrees, selected postgraduate study and some media and design courses have appeared as well. The list changes between years, so read the current call.

Applicants must be South African citizens who are finishing or have finished matric. They must study full time at a recognised South African institution. In addition, they may not hold other bursary or financial aid funding at the same time.

The bursary targets academically strong students who may lack the money to study full time. For these students, a funded place at university removes the need to work while studying. That extra time can go straight into the long hours that finance and law degrees demand.

What to know before applying

The work-back terms are firm. Recipients do vacation work with Oasis during their studies. After graduating, they must take up employment with the company for a period equal to the funding they received. An older call added one extra year to that period. Check the current wording, because the commitment is a contract and not a suggestion.

Past applications asked for the Oasis application form, a certified ID, academic records, proof of acceptance, proof of household income, a CV and a short video. Applicants sent these by email or delivered them to an Oasis office. Earlier calls closed around the end of September, but this is not confirmed for the coming year.

Contact the Bursary Officer on 021 413 7860 to confirm whether applications are open. Ask about the closing date and which documents the current round requires.