Curriculum
Thirteen modules. Every one ends in something you made.
Learning objectives, case studies, a named assignment, guest practitioners, a hands-on exercise, a reading list, and a defined competency. For all thirteen.
Structure
- Technology & Markets
- Modules 1–3 · 20%
- Financial Crime & Regulation
- Modules 4–7 · 30%
- Technology in Compliance & Policy Craft
- Modules 8–10 · 25%
- Leadership & Institution Building
- Modules 11–13 · 25%
Everyone completes all thirteen. Depth of application varies by track.
The modules
01Foundations of Blockchain, Digital Assets & Web3Explain a digital asset product to a Deputy Governor without losing either accuracy or the room.+
You'll produce: a two-page technical briefing note with a risk annex.
Hands on: a block explorer lab: trace a transaction chain, identify clustering, document findings.
02Money, Stablecoins & CBDCsThe monetary sovereignty question, taken seriously.+
You'll produce: a policy note advising a central bank whether to authorise a local-currency stablecoin, with reserve, redemption and supervisory conditions.
Hands on: review real reserve attestations and identify what they do and do not evidence.
03DeFi, Tokenization & Emerging Market StructuresWhere does responsibility actually sit in a “decentralised” system?+
You'll produce: a regulatory characterisation memorandum assessing a protocol against a jurisdiction's financial services perimeter.
04AML/CFT & Financial Crime in Digital AssetsThe FATF standards, applied, not recited.+
You'll produce: a full institutional risk assessment for an African VASP, with scored inherent-risk matrix and residual risk conclusion.
Hands on: an investigation simulation: analyse an on-chain fact pattern, draft a suspicious transaction report, defend it under questioning.
05Travel Rule, Sanctions & Cross-Border ComplianceThe sunrise problem, unhosted wallets, and what a supervisor will actually ask you.+
You'll produce: a Travel Rule operating policy for a mid-sized African exchange, including counterparty due diligence and escalation matrix.
06Cross-Border Payments, Remittances & Market AccessCorrespondent banking, de-risking, and where digital rails genuinely add value.+
You'll produce: a corridor analysis mapping participants, costs, requirements and chokepoints, with three recommended interventions.
07Consumer Protection, Privacy & Data GovernanceWhere AML obligations and data protection law collide, and how to resolve it in writing.+
You'll produce: a consumer protection and data governance framework, including a data transfer impact assessment for Travel Rule compliance.
Hands on: a privacy–AML conflict clinic. Five scenarios where the obligations contradict. Document your reasoning.
08RegTech, AI & Compliance TechnologyIncluding, importantly, what the tooling cannot tell you.+
You'll produce: a technology evaluation memorandum with a recommendation and an implementation risk register.
09Policy Development, Regulatory Research & Regulatory IntelligenceImplementation feasibility, not just policy desirability.+
You'll produce: a publication-standard policy brief on a live African regulatory question.
Hands on: build and populate a section of the Digital Asset Policy Tracker, including the source verification protocol.
10Stakeholder Engagement, Negotiation & Public-Private CollaborationWhat supervisors need, fear and reward.+
You'll produce: a full engagement plan: stakeholder map, message architecture, sequencing, risk register.
Hands on: a live negotiation simulation. Industry team versus supervisory team, on a contested licensing condition. Observed and debriefed.
11Leadership, Executive Communication, Public Speaking & MediaBoard packs, hostile questions, and the seven-minute briefing.+
You'll produce: an executive briefing to a simulated board, followed by five minutes of hostile Q&A.
Hands on: a recorded media interview with playback and structured coaching.
12Systems Thinking, Project Management & Institution BuildingHow to build something that outlasts you.+
You'll produce: a target operating model for a compliance function scaling from 20 to 200 staff.
Hands on: systems mapping on a live Legum operational problem, with recommendations delivered to management.
13Ethics, Professional Identity, Branding & Career DevelopmentIndependence, under commercial and political pressure.+
You'll produce: an ethical reasoning paper, plus a completed professional portfolio and career plan reviewed by your mentor.
Hands on: an ethics clinic. Structured dissent encouraged; written minority positions welcome.
The full curriculum: every topic, case study, exercise and reading list, is in the curriculum document.
Founding Cohort
Thirteen modules. One deliverable each.
You leave with a portfolio of work external audiences have seen, not a reading list.
Applications close 30th November, 2026.