Stanbic Bank Zambia Scoops 4 CSR Awards, As Bank CEO Wins CAR Leader Of The Year

(Image: Green Economy & Environment Minister, Collins Nzovu (c) congratulates Stanbic Zambia CEO, Mwindwa Siakalima (r) and the Bank’s Head of Reputation, Brand Communication & CSI, Sarah Banda-Ortiz (l) after receiving one of the awards during the Awards Ceremony at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre (MICC) in Lusaka on February 17. The Bank scooped a total of four Awards. Photo: Stanbic)

Stanbic Bank Zambia Limited has won four Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards, highlighting achievement of successful results across four critical areas under its CSI portfolio.

In a statement following the Awards Ceremony held on February 17, Stanbic Bank Head Reputation, Brand Communication & CSI, Mrs. Sarah Banda-Ortiz, announced that the Bank had emerged with the CSR Awards in Education; “Best Partnership of the Year”; “Best CSR Campaign of the Year” and “Best CSR Leader of the Year” Awards.

The Awards recognise corporate institutions’ key interventions to align with Government’s agenda of keeping the country’s surroundings clean and green to improve the country’s health standards, as well as excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the communities the Bank operates in.

The four awards the Bank won for 2022 are: CSR Excellence in Education – Adult Literacy programme; Partnership of the Year – Corporate-Corporate; Best CSR Campaign of the Year for the “Let’s Secure Zambezi” initiative and CSR Leader of the Year Award won by the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mwindwa Siakalima.

Commenting on the 4 CSR Awards, Mr. Siakalima stated that the achievement represented an important milestone in the Bank’s CSI portfolio, as evidenced by the major impact on communities.

“Having been awarded four CSR Awards for excellence across the four categories, it is pleasing to be recognised for the results we have achieved in the last year. The impact we had on local communities under our ‘Keep Zambia Clean and Green’ campaign in collaboration with our colleagues at Chilanga Cement was massive because results of that initiative led to waste no longer sitting in our local landfills polluting our highly-densely populated areas,” Mr. Siakalima says.

“Being awarded the CSR for Excellence in Education is testament to the impact our Adult Literacy programme had on recipients, who benefited from the initiative. Our Financial Fitness Academy (FFA), which was launched to provide citizens with the right skills to manage their personal finances and achieve their financial goals, has trained employees from notable institutions, such as Chilanga Cement, Zambia Sugar as well as the deaf and differently-abled of the Bauleni Special Needs Project.”

He adds that the Let’s Secure Zambezi initiative, which propelled the Bank to win the Best CSR Campaign of the Year, is projected to positively impact the country’s economy.

“To support the green economy, the bank partnered with the World Wide Fund (WWF) and the Ministry of Green Economy for the Zambezi River Source Reforestation Project, with the aim of replanting trees at the river source that had been depleted due to human encroachment. Positive impact is mostly felt by the people that live in the Ikelenge District as protecting the catchment area will ensure a more socially economic productive district. It will also have a positive impact on the nation as socio-economic activities originally threatened by the deforestation of the area would flourish and succeed,” he says.

And on scooping the CSR Leader of the Year Award, Mr. Siakalima says: “Emerging as the CSR Leader of the Year is a huge honour for me, personally, but also for the Bank. We have a massively dedicated team, who are passionate about our CSI activities because we see and feel the impact it has on uplifting the communities where we operate.”

“This year, we look forward to pressing ahead with more exciting initiatives that we are confident will help improve people’s livelihoods in the education and health sectors, among others.”

Stanbic has a total of five pillars under its broader CSI, which include: Education; Health; Enterprise; Growth & Sustainable Finance and Climate Change.

Source: Stanbic Bank Zambia