U²Pro bursaries
Your U²Pro fee, covered in full.
CIBA is funding 300 places on U²Pro. A bursary covers the whole R12 000 programme fee, including VAT. You pay nothing to start, and if you finish the programme you pay nothing at all.
Nolusindiso MziziU²Pro student, now CFAdmin with CIBA
Two cohorts. Pick the one you can actually start.
Nothing is accepted after a closing time, for any reason. Apply for the cohort you can give the time to, rather than the one that comes first.
Cohort 1 · starts 3 November 2026
Applications close Friday 16 October 2026 at 23:59.
Outcomes are emailed on or about Tuesday 27 October 2026.
Cohort 2 · starts 26 January 2027
Applications close Tuesday 5 January 2027 at 23:59.
Outcomes are emailed on or about Tuesday 19 January 2027.
The bursary, in short
Shared across the two cohorts, with a reserve list behind each.
The full programme fee, VAT included. No money is paid to you.
No deposit and no registration fee. A surety signs, but pays nothing unless you stop.
For every month of access, capped at R12 000. Finishing cancels it entirely.
Who can apply
Every one of these must be true on the closing date.
- You are a South African citizen or hold permanent residence
- You are at least 18 years old
- You are registered at a recognised South African higher education institution or TVET college for your second or a later year of study towards an accounting, finance or related qualification, or you graduated with one in the last three years
- You achieved a weighted average of at least 60% in your most recently completed year of study, on the official record
- You are not already enrolled on U²Pro, and you have not held a U²Pro bursary or deferred payment arrangement before
- Every required document reaches CIBA by the closing date
- You can commit to completing the programme in the period allowed
- You can provide a surety acceptable to CIBA
How the bursaries are awarded
Four stages, in this order. There is no ranking by household income and no tie-break rule.
Completeness
Every required document is checked off. An application missing anything is disregarded without contact, and it cannot be resubmitted in the same cycle.
Eligibility
Each requirement above is confirmed against your documents.
The merit threshold
A weighted average of at least 60% in your most recently completed year. Below that, the application goes no further.
The selection panel
A panel weighs academic merit, your motivation letter, your CV, your financial circumstances and anything else it considers relevant. No single factor decides it.
Bursary Terms, clauses 9.1 and 3.1. CIBA determines and announces the number of bursaries available for each cycle.
What you must upload
Eight items. Send them together: an incomplete application is not placed in a queue, it is disregarded.
- A certified copy of your identity document or permanent residence permit, certified within the last three months.
- Your official academic record for your most recently completed year, from every institution you attended.
- Proof of current registration dated in the current academic year, or your qualification certificate if you have graduated.
- A CV, two pages at most.
- A motivation letter, 500 words at most.
- Proof of your address, not older than three months.
- Confirmation of any other funding you receive, including NSFAS and other bursaries, or a declaration that you have none.
- The signed declaration and consent on CIBA's form.
Your surety
A parent, guardian or other person acceptable to CIBA signs the Deed of Suretyship in Part B of the Bursary Agreement, as surety and co-principal debtor for the contribution. They pay nothing unless you stop before you finish.
Two witnesses
The surety signs in front of two competent witnesses, who sign as well. A surety signature without two witnesses is sent back.
The debt schedule first
Annexure A has to be completed in full before anybody signs: full names, identity numbers, addresses, contact details, relationship to you and marital status.
Spousal consent
If your surety is married in community of property, their spouse signs Annexure B in front of two witnesses. Without it the suretyship is not valid and the bursary cannot be activated.
Bursary Terms, clause 10.4. Bursary Agreement, Part B and Annexures A and B. Section 15(2)(h) of the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984.
What happens if things go wrong
If you stop
The contribution becomes payable: R1 000 for each Month of Access, a part month counting as a whole one, capped at R12 000. It is triggered by withdrawing, by 60 days of inactivity followed by a written warning and 15 business days to respond, by missing the completion deadline, or by termination. CIBA issues a written statement and the amount is payable within 30 days, or on agreed instalments of at most twelve.
If life gets in the way
CIBA may waive the contribution on serious illness, the death of an immediate family member, retrenchment or a comparable cause. Ask in writing within 30 days of the statement.
If you misrepresent something
A bursary terminated for false information, or for a forged or fraudulently certified document, makes the full R12 000 immediately repayable rather than the pro rata amount, with a permanent bar on future CIBA bursaries.
If you fall behind on the contribution
Interest runs at 2% a month simple on overdue amounts, capped by the in duplum rule, plus attorney-and-own-client costs. No interest is charged while nothing is overdue.
Bursary Terms, clauses 12 and 13.2. Bursary Agreement, clause 3.2.
What a bursary buys you
The same U²Pro as everybody else: 26 recorded sessions, the client work, the integrated case study, your Work Readiness Passport, a CIBA completion certificate, 52 CPD hours and twelve months of experience credit toward a CIBA designation.
Completing the programme means working through every session, passing every session assessment and submitting the summative integrated case study, within twelve months of being given access. CIBA can extend that to eighteen months in writing on good cause.
Common questions
If I finish, do I owe anything at all?
No. Completing the programme discharges the obligation in full. The contribution only ever arises if you stop before you finish, miss the completion deadline, or the bursary is terminated.
Why does a bursary need a surety?
Because it can become payable. If you stop part way, you contribute R1 000 for each month you had access, and somebody has to stand behind that amount. The surety pays nothing while you are working through the programme, and nothing at all once you finish.
Can I apply if I have NSFAS or another bursary?
Yes. You must disclose it, and you submit either confirmation of that funding or a declaration that you have none.
I am in my first year. Can I apply?
No. You need to be registered for your second or a later year of study, or to have graduated in the last three years.
What happens if I send a document late?
The application is disregarded. Nothing is accepted after the closing time, you are not contacted about it, and you cannot resubmit in the same cycle. You can apply again for the next cohort.
How many bursaries are there, and how are they shared?
CIBA is funding 300 across the two cohorts, with a reserve list behind each. CIBA determines and announces the number available for each cycle.
Will you use my name or photograph?
Accepting a bursary carries consent to being named and photographed in CIBA material. You can withdraw that consent in writing for future publications.
What if I do not get one?
Two routes remain. You can enrol and pay R1 000 a month for twelve months, or you can apply for deferred payment, which moves the fee to after you are employed. Deferred payment is a debt rather than a bursary, and it also needs a surety.
Which documents actually govern this?
The Bursary Terms and Conditions and the Bursary Agreement, both published below. Where this page and those documents differ, the documents apply. The version of the Terms published on the site at the closing date is the version that governs your application.
Apply for a U²Pro bursary
Read both documents first. Complete and sign the agreement with your surety before you upload anything.
Applications close on 16 October 2026 at 23:59.
For the cohort starting 3 November 2026. Send everything together.
Questions about a U²Pro bursary: ciba@myciba.org or +27 (0) 12 643 1800. Chartered Institute for Business Accountants NPC. CIBA may verify anything you submit with third parties, including your institution and your employer. A misrepresentation or a material omission entitles CIBA to decline the application, or to terminate the bursary and claim the full amount, even after you have started.