Zenith Bank Nigeria Plc disclosed that it has spent over N12 billion in five years (2014-2019) on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) investments in Nigeria.
This is according to its recently released report tagged “Zenith Bank Plc-2019 Sustainability report,” made available on the Nigerian Stock Exchange platform.
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The bank stated that it does not consider CSR as a branding tool, rather as a must-have and an opportunity through which it contributes to a society that it is part of.
Nairametrics gathered that the bank’s CSR can be broadly categorized into five (5) broad areas namely; Health, Education, Sports/youth, Empowerment, Government/public infrastructure and policy and other projects/support.
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Healthcare
The Bank’s healthcare initiatives are centred on providing maternal healthcare and medical support to members of its host communities.
- In 2019, it spent the sum of N345 million to provide medical support to low-income individuals in critical need of medical attention.
- Some of the highlights of the healthcare initiatives executed by the bank includes Donation to Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria, supporting Iga-Idunganran primary healthcare centre with medical supplies for 12 months and spearheading the O’Five charity initiative.
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Education
Zenith Bank’s policy on education is aimed at achieving free, equitable and quality education at various levels, such as primary and tertiary.
- In 2019, the bank spent N210 million in educational interventions and human capacity development.
- Other key spending on education by the bank include; Construction of a 500-capacity hostel for St. Finbarr’s college, Supported St. Saviour’s school with the sum of ₦20million as annual sponsorship, Upgraded St. Francis Catholic school’s e-library, laboratories, wellness centre and classrooms amongst others.
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Sports/Youth and women empowerment
The bank stated that the reason it embarked on this initiative was to create additional livelihood options and decongest the corporate sector.
- In the most recent year, 2019, it spent N238 million on investment in sports/youth and women empowerment. In terms of sports, the bank is a major sponsor of the Women Basketball League in Nigeria.
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Government/Public infrastructure and policy
The bank noted that the majority of its social investments goes into this category. The bank complements the effort of the government in securing lives and properties and providing development infrastructures.
- In 2019, the bank invested N1.42billion to support government and agencies of the government at different levels.
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Other projects/support
This category is unique and is equally beneficial to the society just like others.
- The bank invested N516 million to projects in this category in 2019.
- Some of the highlights of these initiatives include; sponsorship of financial literacy training for over 2000 participants across Kano, Gombe and Bauchi states. It also sponsored the 2019/2020 CFA Institute Research Challenge among others.
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Zenith bank PLC is indeed one of the leading edge in the banking industry. The CSR effort is commendable. I believe more can be done so that the society and environment can be further impacted