DBS
Foundation to commemorate Singapore’s 50th year of independence in
2015
DBS Bank announced
today that it has established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its
corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia. The
initiative is being launched in conjunction with Singapore50 (SG50), to mark
Singapore’s 50th year of independence next year, and funds towards
DBS’ India efforts shall also be managed by the DBS Foundation.
With the launch of
DBS Foundation, the bank will scale up its support for communities in Asia, and
make an even greater impact in addressing the region’s evolving social needs.
While the foundation’s objectives are expected to evolve over time, in the
foreseeable future, it intends to catalyse social innovation by encouraging the
development of innovative social initiatives. These initiatives include nurturing the social entrepreneurship sector and providing relief and
support to communities in need, including donations in times of natural
disasters or crises.
The establishment of the foundation underlines DBS’ commitment of giving
back to the community in a sustained manner over the long term. Since 2012, the
bank has provided close to SGD 2 million in grants to 56 social enterprises in
Asia. DBS Bank India in association with Tata Institute of Social Science
supports 22 social entrepreneurs across India from locations such as Surat,
Navi Mumbai, Nagpur and across Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. DBS and TISS have been working together and have provided
start-ups with funding, growth capital for capacity
building/expanding, business guidance and mentoring support on various topics
like HR, Finance and Marketing through staff volunteers. TISS and DBS have also
measured social impact and created by these ventures.
The bank has been active in supporting social enterprises because they
resolve social issues through financially viable solutions, enabling them to
sustain their efforts over the long term. DBS also remains the only bank to
offer virtually free banking services to social enterprises in multiple
countries such as India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia and Taiwan.
To encourage young people to do more for the
community, DBS recently partnered the National University of Singapore (NUS) to
launch an inaugural competition that will identify new ventures that have the
potential to generate scalable and sustainable social impact. Launched in
September 2013, the DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia has attracted over
400 submissions from over 15 countries around the world. Of the participants,
70% are younger than 30 years old, and close to 40% are women. The bulk of
ideas centre on the use of technology to create social impact. The winners –
who will be made known in June 2014 – will receive funding to start their
social ventures.
“Over the past two decades, Asia’s rapid economic growth and development
have led to an improvement of living standards across the region. However, a
sizable proportion of Asia’s population has yet to benefit from the region’s
rise to prosperity,” said DBS CEO Mr.
Piyush Gupta.
“At DBS, we are
of the view that we share a symbiotic relationship with the societies and
communities which we operate in. We believe in being a force for good. Apart
from creating long-term economic value, we also seek to positively benefit the
communities we are present in, and deliver social value. The DBS Foundation
will enable us to be a further catalyst of change.”
“We are committed
to building a better future by supporting social enterprises in India and
across Asia. Social enterprises offer
innovative and sustainable solutions to meet societal needs. As a strong
advocate of entrepreneurship and innovation, DBS is committed to help social
enterprises maximise their social impact and improve their commercial viability
at the same time.” said Mr. Sanjiv Bhasin, General Manager & CEO,
DBS Bank, India.
On the crisis
relief front, DBS has, in recent years, donated towards relief efforts for the
Sichuan and Padang earthquakes, as well as Cyclone Nargis. Just last year, the
bank, its employees and customers donated over SGD 1 million to the Singapore
Red Cross in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
The DBS Foundation is chaired by Ms Euleen Goh, who is a
Board Member of DBS Group Holdings and the non-executive
chairman of the Singapore International Foundation.
Other board members of the DBS Foundation include:
Other board members of the DBS Foundation include:
· Nihal Kaviratne CBE, Board Member of DBS Group Holdings
· Danny Teoh, Board Member of DBS Group Holdings
· Karen Ngui, Head of Group Strategic Marketing
& Communications, DBS Bank
· Lim Chu Chong, Head of SME Banking, DBS Bank
Said Euleen Goh,
Chairman of the DBS Foundation, “In this era of ‘New Capitalism’, we must
deliver value to all our stakeholders. This means doing what’s right by our
customers, employees and the community as well as our shareholders. With a
sense of shared purpose and meaning, not only will our people be more engaged,
as an organisation, we can also make a greater impact in the communities we
operate in.”
About DBS
DBS - Living, Breathing Asia
DBS is a leading
financial services group in Asia, with over 250 branches across 16 markets.
Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three
key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The
bank's capital position, as well as "AA-" and "Aa1" credit
ratings, is among the highest in Asia-Pacific. DBS has been recognised as
“Asia’s Best Bank” by The Banker, a member of the Financial Times group, and
“Best Managed Bank in Asia-Pacific” by The Asian Banker. The bank has also been
named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for five consecutive years from
2009 to 2013.
DBS provides a full
range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking activities across Asia.
As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing
business in the region’s most dynamic markets. These market insights and
regional connectivity have helped to drive the bank’s growth as it sets out to
be the Asian bank of choice. DBS is also committed to building lasting
relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through
supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way.
With its extensive
network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its
staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the
passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 19,000 staff, representing
over 30 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.
For further information, please contact:
Daniel, Blue
Lotus Communications
M: +91 9500055980. E: daniel@bluelotuspr.com
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