Date: 2024-08-16 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00026309
SINGAPORE
DBS (formerly the DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SINGAPORE
DBS commits up to SGD1 billion over next 10 years to step up support for vulnerable communities and catalyse social impact
DBS (formerly the DEVELOPMENT BANK OF SINGAPORE
DBS commits up to SGD1 billion over next 10 years to step up support for vulnerable communities and catalyse social impact
Original article: https://www.dbs.com/newsroom/DBS_commits_up_to_SGD1_billion_over_next_10_years_to_step_up_support_for_vulnerable_communities_and_catalyse_social_impact
Peter Burgess COMMENTARY
I have never had the opportunity to visit Singapore ... but I have followed the development and progress of Singapore since the early 1960s.
br> I never knew any of the details, but I have vague memories of a school buddy a little older than me that lost his life in Malaya soldiering with the Biritsh military in the late 1950s.
br> More positively, I did some advisory work in Barbados during the late 1990s when xxxxxxxxxxxxxx was Prime Minister. It was rumored that xxxxx and xxxxxx, the PM of Singapore has both been at the London Scool of Economics together and a shared rooms. Better yet, though, they had stayed in touch and frequently had telephone calls to share experience, problems and possibilities!
Peter Burgess
- ● Augments existing community initiatives by the bank and DBS Foundation; first SGD 100 million to be deployed with effect from 2024
- ● Bank’s employees will contribute over 1.5 million employee volunteer hours
Funds will primarily go towards programmes that aim to support this vulnerable segment in the community, which will include:
- Helping them cope with immediate daily needs, such as food and housing
- Giving them the opportunity to break out of the poverty cycle through education
- Equipping them with important life skills such as digital and financial literacy
- Strengthening their emotional and mental resilience
Over the next few months, the bank will be identifying key organisations and programmes to partner and support. For a start, in Singapore, DBS will work with the Ministry of Social and Family Development to support lower-income families and households who need additional help.
CEO of DBS Bank Piyush Gupta said, “An uneven post-pandemic economic recovery and stubbornly high inflation have exacerbated the plight of the financially vulnerable with some segments of society facing acute challenges in making ends meet. As a purpose-driven bank, DBS has always been active in giving back to society. Amid increasingly challenging times, however, we wanted to intensify efforts to support those with the fewest resources, giving them access to basic opportunities required to succeed in life. With an SGD 1 billion commitment and step-up in employee volunteer hours over the next decade, we hope to make an enduring and meaningful impact to improve the lives of the less fortunate in our midst.”
With its roots as the Development Bank of Singapore, purpose has always been at the heart of DBS’ DNA. Over the years, the bank has banked the under-served and under-supported segments such as migrant workers, low-income and elderly through subsidised banking. It has also consistently given back to the community.
On the community front, in 2014, the bank established the SGD 50 million DBS Foundation to support social entrepreneurship. Since then, it has supported more than 800 Businesses for Impact and impacted over 800,000 lives by enabling access to healthcare, education, and employment.
During the pandemic, the bank created an SGD 10.5 million “Stronger Together Fund” to support those impacted by Covid-19. In 2022, DBS committed an additional SGD 100 million to deepen its ability to create impact beyond banking. The increased funding is helping to fund DBS Foundation's expanded scope including its new Community Impact Chapter, and other philanthropic and relief efforts. To date, the DBS Foundation has rolled out 10 community programmes in the areas of digital and financial literacy across the region, with a collective target of impacting 6.9 million lives over three years.
In Indonesia, in order to create a more equal society, DBS Foundation collaborated with the Dicoding foundation to initiate the DBS Foundation Coding Camp 2023 with the aim of accelerating the digital transformation and its various potentials. DBS Foundation Coding Camp targets as many as 102,000 Indonesian citizens (WNI) as beneficiaries who are divided into three categories, namely teaching staff (teachers, lecturers or lecturers in the IT field outside official educational institutions), students and university students, and the general public. Since its launch in February 2023, DBS Foundation Coding Camp has reached more than 50,000 participants.
Since 2020, Bank DBS Indonesia has also contributed massively through a series of social and educational activities to the community to combat food waste through the #MakanTanpaSisa campaign, which has collaborated with more than 16 partners to process waste to turn it into compost. This initiative has been able to save more than 140 tons of food impact or food that has been successfully reprocessed so that it does not end up in landfills.
About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's 'AA-' and 'Aa1' credit ratings are among the highest in the world.
Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “World’s Best Bank” by Global Finance, “World’s Best Bank” by Euromoney and “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney and the world’s “Most Innovative in Digital Banking” by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia“ award by Global Finance for 14 consecutive years from 2009 to 2022.
DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, as it banks the Asian way. Through the DBS Foundation, the bank creates impact beyond banking by supporting social enterprises: businesses with a double bottom-line of profit and social and/or environmental impact. DBS Foundation also gives back to society in various ways, including equipping communities with future-ready skills and building food resilience.
With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities.
For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.
DBS Bank Ltd | 12 Marina Boulevard, DBS Asia Central @ Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3,
Singapore 018982 | Co. Reg. No. 196800306ETel: 65.6878 8888 | www.dbs.com