University students have been urged to start participating in activities of the capital markets if they are to understand its relevance to the economy.

"It is hard to develop as an economy if the people don’t understand how capital markets work. That’s why we want the youth to develop interest in the sector and get familiar with its activities and operations early,” Amb. Claver Gatete, the Minister for Finance, said. 

Gatete also advised the youth, especially students, to start saving by buying shares of companies listed on the local bourse. 

He was speaking during the closure of the Capital Markets University Challenge 2014 at the Kigali Serena Hotel last week. 

This year’s contest was on the theme, "Shape your future by saving and investing in capital markets”. 

Close to 200 students from 15 universities participated in the contest that involved essay writing, live TV quizzes and drama performances on capital markets-related issues.

The contest was won by students from the Independent Institute of Lay Adventists (INILAK) who beat University of Rwanda. 

The three winners of the TV quiz got Rwf550,000 in Bank of Kigali (BK) shares, while first ruuner-up earned Rwf450,000 in lender’s shares. 

The drama contest team winners won Rwf1.1m in BK shares, while the winner of the essay writing competition bagged Rwf100,000 worth of BK shares plus an iPad, the second got Rwf100,000 worth of BK shares and a smartphone. The second runner-up pocketed Rwf150,000 in BK shares.