At Standard Chartered Bank Zambia, we are committed to invest in the communities where we operate.

Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Plc continues to drive community engagement initiatives focussed on social and economic inclusion.

Futuremakers by Standard Chartered is our global initiative to tackle inequality and promote economic inclusion across our markets.  At global level, the Bank aims to raise USD50 million (between 2019 and 2023) to empower the next generation to learn, earn and grow. The Bank’s approach to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion is to extend opportunities to people through our business, operations and community programmes regardless of social background and gender. Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Plc launched Futuremakers in September 2020 and is now running three programmes under this umbrella: Youth To Work; SC Women In Tech Incubator Programme; and Goal. Futuremakers is supported by the Standard Chartered Foundation.

Launched in 2020, the Youth to Work programme creates opportunities for young people to become job-ready. In partnership with Challenges Group Zambia, our Youth to Work programme strategically placed over 40 young Zambians in businesses to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), while fostering wider skills development for them. In the first cohort, 84 per cent found gainful employment as a direct and indirect result of participation on the programme by the end of 2021. In addition, all youth on the programme received training for a UK Chartered Management Institute professional qualification in Management and Leadership. Over 40 Zambian SMEs received business development support through our partners and the young people placed in their organisations. Following the successful delivery of the inaugural programme, Cohort 2 launched in September 2021.

In response to calls for more diversity in technology, for more opportunities for women to develop entrepreneurial and leadership expertise, and greater support for Small and Medium enterprises, Standard Chartered Zambia Plc partnered with BongoHive to launch the SC Women in Tech Incubator programme (WiT). Launched in 2020, WiT supports Zambian female-led businesses to scale up their businesses by leveraging technology. Whilst more individuals and businesses now have greater access to financial services than ever before; many micro and small business owners lack the financial skills they need to grow their businesses. WiT provides support, mentorship opportunities and access to resources, such as funding, banking products and services to female entrepreneurs.

Applicants go through a robust selection process – 10 businesses make the final short-list during the incubation programme. These business owners then participate in an intensive 12-week incubation phase to refine their business proposition, products and services.  At the end of the incubation, 5 women are awarded USD10,000 each as seed funding to scale-up their businesses.  The winning businesses for the last two Cohorts of WiT came from various emerging sectors, including virtual education, beauty, agriculture, wellness and construction. The Bank invests USD150,000 for each WiT cohort.

Launched in 2011, our Goal Girls initiative has empowered over 23,000 Zambian adolescent girls with life skills training using the power of sport. In 2021 alone, we reached close to 4,000 girls (exceeding our annual target of 3,000) through training sessions in Lusaka, the Copperbelt, North-Western and Southern provinces. Whilst the Covid-pandemic brought about some restrictions on physical interaction, the programme was also delivered through an additional activity called “Goal@Home” – a self-administered booklet which each girl received and could do activities within the safety of their homes. Bank employees continued to impart their financial knowledge and skills to conduct mentorship and computer literacy programmes.

The Bank delivers a dynamic financial literacy programme for youth, women and the public.  Through social media platforms, live sessions and recorded videos the Bank has reached over 1 million views in total. The Bank’s efforts were recognised by the Bank of Zambia Governor’s Awards 2021, where Standard Chartered won the ‘Exceptional Leadership in Financial Literacy (first place) Award.

Deforestation continues to ravage many African nations, including Zambia. Led by the Bank’s CEO, staff of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Plc pioneered tree-planting in the banking industry by committing to plant at least 1 tree every year. Our tree planting initiative dubbed “Plants of Hope for the future” has seen Bank staff take on the responsibility to look after the environment by playing their part to save our planet for future generations.

Launched in 2020, the Youth to Work programme creates opportunities for young people to become job ready. In partnership with Challenges Group Zambia, our Youth to Work programme has delivered impact for our young people with an average 80 percent of young people securing job placements in the first cohort. 2022 saw the exponential growth of the programme having launched three cohorts. Over 110 young people have successfully completed the programme. In addition, Bank staff are now mentoring young alumni from the programme on the first ever virtual mentorship platform.

Launched in 2011, our Goal Girls initiative has empowered over 23,000 Zambian adolescent girls with life skills training using the power of sport.  In 2022 alone, the programme reached 3,755 through training sessions in Lusaka, the Copperbelt, North-Western, Eastern and Southern provinces. Bank employees have continued to be active participants in the Goal programme by delivering financial literacy sessions for the girls at various locations.