The Standard Chartered Bank says it will invest in a community programme in Myanmar aimed at strengthening the Southeast Asian country’s capacity for social development and employment.
The bank will work with international and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to implement the programme with an emphasis on education and health.
“In addition to what we are doing to facilitate investment and the rejuvenation of the financial sector here, we are launching a range of education and health-related community initiatives to help stimulate economic and social growth. Doing this is central to our brand promise, which is to be ‘Here for Good’,” Tina Singhsacha, chief representative of the Standard Chartered Bank Myanmar, said in a statement.
The programme includes three initiatives: “Goal,” “Education for Entrepreneurs,” and “Seeing is Believing.” The bank plans to launch “Goal” this month and the other two by the end of 2014. “Education for Entrepreneurs” will provide financial education for SMEs, and “Seeing is Believing” is aimed at tackling preventable blindness.
“Goal” is a sports-for-development initiative that provides financial education and life skills training for adolescent girls. It also addresses health issues such as HIV/AIDS awareness. Its purpose is to equip girls between the ages of 12 and 20 with the tools and knowledge to make more informed economic choices as they move into adulthood, thereby empowering them to be more active economic participants in their communities. The bank will work with Girl Determined, a local NGO, to implement the programme.
“The ‘Goal’ programme will kick-off with a workshop involving Girl Determined, other local NGOs and public and private sector representatives on October 23 and 24 in Yangon. The aim of the workshop is to strengthen the capacity of local NGOs to work with adolescent girls and expand the scale and impact of ‘Goal.’ This will be followed by a training session for course facilitators in the first quarter of 2014,” said Napas Paorohitya, head of corporate affairs for Standard Chartered Bank Myanmar.
The UK bank reopened its representative office in Yangon earlier this year. Its history in Myanmar extends back to 1862 when the bank opened its first branch in Rangoon. That operation was nationalised in 1963. It also operated a representative office in Myanmar from 1995-2004.
Source: ELEVEN Myanmar
