Liberty Life

Liberty Life is one of South Africa's leading life insurance and investment groups, offering life cover, financial planning, and asset management services from its head office in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. The company was founded in 1957 by chartered accountant Donald Gordon as the Liberty Life Association of Africa, starting with just R100,000 in capital, and went on to become the first South African company to list on the JSE, in 1967. The company has now operated in South African financial services for more than 65 years and is one of the country's oldest and largest insurers, giving it a direct, long-standing stake in the pipeline of actuarial and financial talent the local industry depends on.

Liberty's bursary programme is aimed squarely at that need: it funds full-time Actuarial Science students from their second year of study onward at universities accredited by the Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA), covering tuition, accommodation, meals, and a travel allowance where applicable. Bursars also complete structured vacation work during the June and December university holidays at Liberty's Braamfontein head office, giving them practical exposure to the actuarial function well before they graduate.

Unlike many corporate bursary schemes, Liberty's programme carries a clear, confirmed commitment on both sides: graduates are guaranteed employment at Liberty once they complete their studies, making this less a general philanthropic grant and more a structured talent pipeline feeding directly into the company's actuarial and finance divisions.