As the former Development Bank of Singapore, DBS has had a rich heritage of helping the industrialisation of Singapore. With POSB being the “People’s Bank”, the bank also sees itself as being an integral member of the community, serving more than four million customers in Singapore. Having progressed over the years with the nation, the bank believes that the foundation will enable it to further contribute to the success of Singapore, and play a bigger role in the future of Asia.
With the launch of DBS Foundation, the bank will scale up its support for communities in Asia, and make an even greater impact in addressing the region’s evolving social needs. While the foundation’s objectives are expected to evolve over time, in the foreseeable future, it intends to catalyse social innovation by encouraging the development of innovative social initiatives. These initiatives include nurturing the social entrepreneurship sector. The foundation will also provide relief and support to communities in need, including donations in times of natural disasters or crises.
The establishment of the foundation underlines DBS’ commitment of giving back to the community in a sustained manner over the long term. Since 2012, the bank has provided over SGD 1.9 million in grants to 59 social enterprises in Asia. Of this, more than SGD 550,000 has been to eight social enterprises in Singapore, including Adrenalin, A-changin, Bizlink and Billion Bricks. The funds have enabled these social enterprises to set up new businesses or expand existing ones so as to provide employment opportunities to the disadvantaged or marginalised. The bank has been active in supporting social enterprises because they resolve social issues through financially viable solutions, enabling them to sustain their efforts over the long term. DBS also remains the only bank to offer virtually free banking services to social enterprises in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan.
To encourage young people to do more for the community, DBS recently partnered the National University of Singapore (NUS) to launch an inaugural competition that will identify new ventures that have the potential to generate scalable and sustainable social impact. Launched in September 2013, the DBS-NUS Social Venture Challenge Asia has attracted over 400 submissions from over 15 countries around the world. Of the participants, 70% are younger than 30 years old, and close to 40% are women. The bulk of ideas centre on the use of technology to create social impact. The winners – who will be made known in June 2014 – will receive funding to start their social ventures. “Over the past two decades, Asia’s rapid economic growth and development have led to an improvement of living standards across the region. However, a sizable proportion of Asia’s population has yet to benefit from the region’s rise to prosperity,” said DBS CEO Piyush Gupta. “At DBS, we are of the view that we share a symbiotic relationship with the societies and communities which we operate in. We believe in being a force for good. Apart from creating long-term economic value, we also seek to positively benefit the communities we are present in, and deliver social value. The DBS Foundation will enable us to be a further catalyst of change.”
On the crisis relief front, DBS has, in recent years, donated towards relief efforts for the Sichuan and Padang earthquakes, as well as Cyclone Nargis. Just last year, the bank, its employees and customers donated over SGD 1 million to the Singapore Red Cross in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
The DBS Foundation is chaired by Ms Euleen Goh, who is a Board Member of DBS Group Holdings and the non-executive chairman of the Singapore International Foundation.
Other board members of the DBS Foundation include:
Said Euleen Goh, Chairman of the DBS Foundation, “In this era of ‘New Capitalism’, we must deliver value to all our stakeholders. This means doing what’s right by our customers, employees and the community as well as our shareholders. With a sense of shared purpose and meaning, not only will our people be more engaged, as an organisation, we can also make a greater impact in the communities we operate in.”
Photo captions:
DBS Foundation 1 : From left: Piyush Gupta, DBS Group CEO, and Euleen Goh, Board Member of DBS Group Holdings, speaking at the launch of the SGD 50 million DBS Foundation.
DBS Foundation 2 : From left: Piyush Gupta, DBS Group CEO, and Euleen Goh, Board Member of DBS Group Holdings, speaking at the launch of the SGD 50 million DBS Foundation.
DBS Foundation 3 : From left: Piyush Gupta, DBS Group CEO, and Euleen Goh, Board Member of DBS Group Holdings, at the launch of the DBS Foundation, where social enterprises Aii, Bizlink, Stirring Hearts and Teddy Thotz were also present to promote their goods and causes.
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About DBSDBS - Living, Breathing AsiaDBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 200 branches across 15 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is a market leader in Singapore with over four million customers and also has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth, namely, Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank's strong capital position, as well as "AA-" and "Aa1" credit ratings that are among the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, earned it Global Finance's "Safest Bank in Asia" accolade for three consecutive years, in 2009, 2010 and 2011.DBS provides the full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking activities across Asia and the Middle East. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS also understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. This market insight and regional connectivity have helped to drive the bank’s growth as it sets out to be the Asian bank of choice. The bank believes that building lasting relationships with its customers is an integral part of banking the Asian way.With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 17,000 staff, representing over 30 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.
