Standard Bank plc says it has spent K248 million in social, economic and environment (SEE) initiatives, fulfilling its pledge to spend one percent of its annual profit on corporate social responsibility projects.

The expenditure, take from the K24.8 billion profit the Malawi Stock Exchange-listed bank chalked in the year ended December 2021, is depicted in its Report to Society launched in Lilongwe on Friday.

The report is a guiding tool Standard Bank plc will use to record and track its contribution to Malawi’s national development.

Madinga (R) unveils the report as Getachew looks on

Speaking during the launch, Standard Bank Malawi plc chief executive officer Phillip Madinga said during the financial year, the bank invested in six key areas.

They include job creation and enterprise development, financial inclusion, trade facilitation and investment, health, education and employee training and development.

Said Madinga: “We are committed to playing our role to drive the country’s economic growth sustainably by serving our communities through impactful projects that touch lives and improve societies.

“Through the report, Standard Bank is demonstrating its integral role as enabler of economic growth by applying its expertise in the local and regional financial sector.”

According to the bank, the Report to Society has been developed with guidance from the International Integrated Reporting Framework and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“As a passionate driver of growth, this report communicates how we have leveraged our SEE impacts to support our strategy and achieve our purpose,” said Madinga.

He said the report intends to detail how the bank plans to generate impact in the future by giving an overview of key impact ambitions and how it intends to measure progress and success.

The report further states that the three-year programme with UN Women under the smart agriculture initiatives helped to increase output of groundnuts for 10 000 farmers in Lilongwe, Mchinji and Mzimba.

United Nations Development Programme deputy resident representative Challa Getachew commended Standard Bank plc for its interventions, saying it is helping the country to achieve the socio-economic success.

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