Reflecting on a philanthropic year: Stanbic Bank highlights its Corporate Social Investment initiatives
the bank was able to mobilise equipment worth 100 million Uganda Shillings and more than 130 million Uganda Shillings worth of Mama Kits that were delivered to 4000 mothers.
“What is the role of philanthropy in national development?” you might ask. This may be a difficult question to answer if philanthropic initiatives and interventions are not tracked or documented. Stanbic Bank Uganda is leading the way in telling their journey of generosity. In a recently released annual report Stanbic Bank showcased the impact and reach of their corporate philanthropy.
In the annual report, Stanbic stated, “Our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives directly benefited 331, 684 Ugandans and 905 local small businesses with indirect impact reaching over one million people supported by a total of Uganda Shillings. 3.5 billion which we put back in the community through the Bank and our business incubator enterprise capacity building trainings.”
Three key pillars drive the company's corporate social investment: education, health, and environmental conservation. These are consistent with their three-pronged CSI strategy (Social, Economic, and Environmental).
Under the education pillar, Stanbic Bank undertook the National Schools Championship Project to impact 100 schools, 60,000 students and 100 teachers in the area of personal finance, business and entrepreneurship skills, all towards empowering future job creators. Through this initiative, over 200 businesses were created, 90 of which received grants from the bank, to scale up their production. This intervention also gave the participants hope and a worthwhile goal to work towards amidst the inactivity that was caused by school closure during the pandemic.
As a contribution to the health sector, Stanbic bank was au fait with the impact of the lockdown on expectant mothers and their children due to the difficulty they faced in accessing hospitals. Through the MamaKit initiative, under the “every mother counts” campaign, the bank was able to mobilise equipment worth 100 million Uganda Shillings and more than 130 million Uganda Shillings worth of Mama Kits that were delivered to 4000 mothers. This initiative was undertaken to end maternal mortality. Stanbic Bank did not practice generosity in isolation, but collaborated with many other organizations, including UNOC, ATC Uganda, Huawei, UMEME, Uganda Communications Commission, TOTAL, NSSF, Vivo Energy, Liberty Life, Crown Beverages, Uganda Breweries Limited, AFREXIM, and UNDP, to make this happen.
In addition to that, the bank signed a tripartite agreement with Total Uganda and Roofing Limited to plant 150,000 fruit trees. The bank is working with schools to plant trees in school compounds which will ultimately contribute to the children’s nutrition needs. This intervention is being implemented directly by the bank as well as through staff initiatives aimed at responding to community needs in the area of environmental conservation.
The ultimate goal of Uganda’s National Development Plan is to increase household incomes and improve the quality of life of Ugandans. Stanbic Bank’s report is a testament to the far-reaching contribution of corporate philanthropy to national development. It further speaks to the power of partnerships, community-led philanthropy and above all, the impact of telling our giving stories to shape the narrative around African philanthropy.
For more information on this story visit link below: