Sampath Bank honoured with Silver Award for CSR

Friday, 14 November 2014 01:44 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sampath Bank clinched the Silver Award in the category of CSR Brand of the Year at the SLIM Brand Excellence Award Ceremony held on 21 October 2014 at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Hall of BMICH. This prestigious award recognised Sampath Bank’s continuous CSR initiatives that have profoundly contributed towards the enhancement of the lives of people in Sri Lanka in addition to the overall development of social well-being. Commenting on this recognition, Sampath Bank Deputy General Manager – Marketing and Business Development Tharaka Ranwala said, “The country today is going through a phase of rapid economic and social development. As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Sampath Bank has identified the need to empower the lives of Sri Lankans and has thus engaged in a number of CSR initiatives. Under a comprehensive framework known as the ‘5E CSR Model’ Sampath Bank has been successful in the accurate identification and upliftment of various communities across the island. ‘Sampath Saviya’ CSR project aims to empower SMEs who are essentially the backbone of our country’s economy. “This CSR Project mirrored our aspiration and commitment to CSR at SLIM Brand Excellence 2014. We are indeed proud that our constant investment in social improvement has been recognised on such a prestigious platform and are profoundly motivated to continue our efforts to make Sri Lanka a more developed nation.” Sampath Saviya is an ongoing entrepreneur development program that seeks to empower 500 small and medium scale entrepreneurs across the island. Through a series of three day workshops, Sampath Saviya educates and trains them in important areas such as human resource management, administration and business planning in addition to enhancing their financial literacy. In addition to placing a special emphasis on the identification of women entrepreneurs Sampath Saviya will monitor the execution of the entrepreneur’s business plans for a period of two years, making sure that the bank steps in when support is needed. Sampath Bank’s ‘5E CSR Model’ which includes; Education for Development, Empowerment of Communities, Ethics and Values, Environment Protection and Conservation and Entrepreneurship Development has been the basis for formulating the areas of focus for Sampath Bank’s many CSR initiatives. As such the bank spreads out CSR projects to the rural and semi urban regions of Sri Lanka with a focus on small and medium scale projects that share the benefit with a greater number of beneficiaries. Among the most noteworthy projects that Sampath Bank has completed over the years is the ‘Wewata Jeewayak’ which saw the reconstruction of the Dematava tank in the Paduwasnuwara that helped dry zone farmers in cultivating their paddy lands. Under the ‘Gamata Viduliya’ project, Sampath Bank uplifted the lives of ten families in Ipologama, Nochchiagama – a remote village in Anuradhpura District, with the provision of electricity for their homes. Furthermore, Sampath Bank donated fully-fledged Neuro Navigation System worth of Rs. 49 million to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka under the ‘Hope for a life’ CSR project. Ranwala further added, “While product innovation and customer satisfaction remains a critical aspect of our day-to-day operations, CSR has always been a big part of everything we do, from business practices to the principles and values that guide us. It is for this very reason, that Sampath Bank has been the recipient to many prestigious awards in the past, namely; 1st runner upat the Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Awards in 2013 which is the country’s top most Corporate Social Responsibility Award organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. “Our continuous social commitment was also recognised at the Asia Responsible Business Excellence awards 2014 held on 1 August 2014 in Singapore, as Sampath Bank won the prestigious Best Community Program Leadership Award.” SLIM Brand Excellence is a flagship event in the country’s corporate calendar, conducted by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM).SLIM Brand Excellence is a celebration of brand excellence at national level and rewards the outstanding efforts of outstanding marketers. This event encourages the best practices amongst Brands Island wide and in doing so raises local brands to global standards. Sampath Bank is proud to be the recipient of such an honourable award, and will continue to thrive in their efforts to build the nation in the days to come.