PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAM – 2026 COHORTS
Agentic AI Short Course programme
Learn to design, deploy and manage AI agents that work with Excel, SQL, Power BI and Python to automate real business workflows.
Start date
October 2026
Years experience
Employed Graduates
60
Hours – 40 core + 20 track
4
Specialization tracks
78%
1
Working agent, demoed live
About this program
iFundi’s Agentic AI Programme teaches you how to design, deploy and manage AI agents that work with Excel, SQL, Power BI and Python to automate real business workflows.
The programme moves beyond basic AI prompts, teaching you how AI agents can perform multi-step tasks, work with business data and systems, and support real workplace processes.
Why this program
AI is moving beyond chat. AI agents can now work across tools like Excel, SQL, Power BI and Python to analyse data, refresh reports, reconcile information, trigger actions and route exceptions for human review. The opportunity isn’t simply to use AI to get better answers. It’s to use AI to get more work done.
This programme is built for working professionals who want to apply that capability to the work they already do. Learn how to identify where AI agents can add value, design and deploy agents around real business workflows, and build solutions using the tools and data used in your function.
What you will gain
Build agents, not just prompts
Go beyond chatting with AI. Design agents that plan, call tools, query data, and complete multistep workflows with human approval where it matters.
A portfolio, not a certificate alone
Leave with 8–10 working lab artifacts and a demoed capstone agent built on your function’s use case proof you can show your manager on Monday.
Four-tool fluency, AI-accelerated
Advanced Excel, SQL, Power BI, and Python learned with an AI pair at your side, so you reach a productive level in weeks instead of years.
Governance you can defend
Learn guardrails, privacy, audit trails, and humanin- the-loop design so the automation you build passes review by IT, legal, and audit.
Function-specific depth
Every specialization lab uses realistic data from your world pipelines, ledgers, HRIS records, or warehouses so nothing needs translating to your job.
Recognized certification
Graduate as a certified Agentic AI Practitioner in your track, assessed on real working deliverables labs, quiz, and a live capstone demo.
Programme fee
Choose your specialisation
For: marketing managers & executives, digital marketers, sales managers, inside sales & SDR teams, CRM administrators, growth and revenue-operations professionals.
- Lead scoring
- Funnel dashboards
- CRM agents
- Content engines
- Churn analytics
For: finance managers, FP&A analysts, accountants, AP/AR teams, controllers, internal auditors, and anyone who owns reconciliations, budgets, or month-end reporting.
- Auto reconciliation
- Variance commentary
- Invoice agents
- Forecasting
- Exception reports
For: HR business partners, talent acquisition teams, HR-operations and payroll teams, L&D professionals, and people-analytics enthusiasts.
- People dashboards
- Attrition analytics
- Survey analysis
- Onboarding agents
- Policy Q&A bots
For: business analysts, MIS & reporting teams, BI developers, data analysts, and operations analysts who want to move from building dashboards to building agents.
- Text-to-SQL
- Automated EDA
- Multi-agent pipelines
- Insight narration
- Data-quality agents
Built for working professionals, managers and teams, no coding background required.
How Agentic AI helps you work smarter
WEEK 1
Automate your recurring reports
The weekly tracker, the monthly MIS pack, the same-every-time summary email set an agent to compile, chart, and draft it, and move yourself to review-and-send.
WEEK 1
Ask your data questions in plain English
Stop waiting in the IT/analyst queue. Query CRM, ERP, or HRIS data conversationally through governed text-to-SQL with read-only guardrails you configured yourself.
MONTH 1
Ship dashboards that explain themselves
Deliver Power BI reports with AI-written commentary and threshold alerts, so stakeholders get the “why”, not just the chart automatically, on schedule.
MONTH 1
Redesign one process end-to-end
Apply the BPO method from your capstone: map a workflow, insert agents at the manual steps, keep humans at the judgment steps, and quantify the hours returned.
QUARTER 1
Become your team’s AI lead
Evaluate vendor AI claims credibly, pilot tools safely, write your team’s usage guardrails, and train colleagues the internal champion every function now needs.
CAREER
Future-proof your profile
“Built and deployed AI agents for [function]” is a line very few CVs carry today. Certification plus a demoable portfolio positions you for AIera roles and promotions.
What you will learn
MODULE
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN & BUILD
HOURS
C1
Foundations of Generative & Agentic AI
How LLMs work, limits & hallucination, the enterprise AI landscape, and what
makes AI “agentic”. Lab: same task on 3 assistants – compare and verify.
4
C2
Prompt Engineering & Context Design
Role–task–context–format structure, few-shot & structured outputs, document workflows. Lab: a prompt library for 5 recurring tasks in your role.
3
C3
Agent Architecture & Your First Agent
Tools, memory, planning loops, MCP & connectors, framework landscape, humanin-the-loop design. Lab: ship a working no-code agent.
5
C4
Agentic AI + Advanced Excel
Power Query, dynamic arrays, Copilot & Python-in-Excel; agents that read, write,
audit and refresh workbooks; AI scenario analysis.
6
C5
Agentic AI + SQL
SQL essentials with an AI tutor; text-to-SQL agents with read-only guardrails;
automated query packs with AI-written summaries.
6
C6
Agentic AI + Power BI
Data modeling & DAX with AI assistance; Copilot in Power BI; agent-generated
commentary, anomaly alerts and automated distribution.
6
C7
Agentic AI + Python
pandas, APIs and notebooks with an AI pair-programmer; build a coded agent
(LangGraph/CrewAI); intro to multi-agent patterns.
7
C8
Business Process Optimization + Responsible AI
Process mapping, agent-suitability scoring, ROI modeling; security, privacy,
prompt injection, audit trails. Core assessment.
3
Common Core total
40
Every specialization applies the full toolset Excel, SQL, Power BI, Python, and process optimization to your function’s own data and workflows, and ends with a demoed capstone.
Assessment & Certification
ASSESSMENT & CERTIFICATION
25% – Core quiz + personal agent demo
30% – Module lab artifacts
45% – Capstone demo + business case
Certificate: Agentic AI Practitioner – [Track], at ≥70% with a working capstone
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need coding experience?
No coding experience is required. The programme is built for working professionals, with AI tools handling the technical heavy lifting.
Which specialisation should I choose?
Choose the track closest to your current or intended business function: Marketing & Sales, Finance, Human Resources, or Analytics.
How much time will I need each week?
2–3 sessions per week, 2–3 hours each, over 7–8 weeks.
What is the full cost of the qualification?
R 15000 per learner. Most learners don’t pay this themselves their employer funds it through the Skills Development Levy.
Is this a recognized, accredited qualification?
Yes.
What's the business case I can bring to my manager?
A demoed working agent, 8–10 lab artifacts, and a quantified hours-saved case from your capstone plus B-BBEE skills development points if your employer funds it, at no direct cost to your budget.
Will I build a real AI agent?
Yes. Every participant completes a working capstone agent relevant to their chosen function,demoed live.
What happens if I'm a beginner?
You start at the foundations. The Common Core covers the basics first, then builds into advanced tools and agentic workflows.
What tools will I learn to use?
ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Excel, SQL, Power BI, Python, LangGraph/CrewAI and n8n.
Can my employer fund this through the Skills Development Levy?
Yes. This programme qualifies as eligible spend under the WSP/ATR process and counts toward your organisation’s B-BBEE skills development points. Ask your L&D or HR team, or request our one-pager to support the internal case.