for 2021
Nominated by: Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited
Project Initiation: 1995
Since its inception in 1995, Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited has providing been one of the country’s biggest CSR-funded scholarships in the country. Till date, Tk. 4,272.24 million scholarships has been provided to meritorious students in need of financial support every month, with a total of 62,752 students having received the stipend.
Nominated by: Prime Bank Limited
Project Initiation: 2012
PBEH operates with a mission to render highly affordable, quality eye care to as many people as possible. This includes serving patients from all backgrounds and giving the same quality service to those who need it but can barely afford healthcare. This involves subsidized fees, free medical camps and treatment for those in need.
Nominated by: BSRM Group of Companies
Project Partners: Young Power in Social Action (YPSA)
Project Initiation: 2013
This income-generation project targets the poor and mostly landless communities in Mirasharai, Chittagong, whose primary source of income is to fell trees and collect bamboo to sell to local brick mills as fuel. The project co-ordinators identify these families, provides capacity building support, and pays them a startup fund to start their own agricultural income, which they pay back, and can take out more, in a rotating basis. Nursery, vegetable cultivation, gardening, crop cultivation, cattle rearing and fishery are all options available under this program for the beneficiaries, depending on their available land, skillset and capacity to earn.
Nominated by: Standard Chartered
Project Partners: BRAC, Kumudini Welfare Trust, Biddyanondo, SAJIDA Foundation, UCEP Bangladesh, UNICEF, Red Cross
Project Initiation: 2020
Recognized to have the Highest CSR spending for international banks in Bangladesh in 2020, SCB partnered with multiple public and development sector bodies to reach out to farmers, healthcare workers, the education sector and those in need of immediate relief support.
Nominated by: Nestlé Bangladesh Limited
Project Initiation: 2008
Since 2008, this program enabled Nestlé to build capacity and agricultural knowledge of farmers in communities they operate in, as well as eventually shift to 100% local sourcing of their products –rice, wheat, dairy and honey – from them, giving farmers access to international-quality harvests that gives them a safeguard for their income.
Nominated by: Banglalink Digital Communications Limited
Project Partners: Google Area 120 and Kormo Jobs by Google
Project Initiation: 2018
The vision of this program is to give in-person support to job seekers. Kormo has physical presence in Banglalink outlets (both big – mono-brand outlet (MBO) and small Banglalink Sales and Service Points BSSP) throughout the capital. When job seekers come to these outlets to get services, dedicated Brand Promoters (BPs) pitch them about Kormo and on board them to the platform to give access to jobs. A large segment of the urban youth come to these locations to avail services – and this allows Kormo to reach out to a large number of its target group very fast in Dhaka. The company bolsters opportunities to the community of jobseekers with job fairs and training sessions.
Organization: Executive Director, Dhrubotara Youth Development Foundation (DYDF)
Amiya Prapan Chakraborty (Arka) founded Dhrubotara Youth Development Foundation (DYDF) in 2011 which has grown into one of the biggest spaces for youth across Bangladesh to engage in social activities, volunteerism and policy-level dialogue.
Organization: Founder, Obhizatrik Foundation
Jami founded Obhizatrik Foundation in 2010 with a small free school for the underprivileged. Its cornerstone project, “Shokkhom”, started in 2016, creates 23 different small business models for donors to fund. This ranges from Transportation based businesses, Small and Medium Enterprises, Agro-based business and Livestock business and can cost as little as Tk.10,000 to start up. All participants in Shokkhom start earning by 6-8 months of onboarding.
Organization: Founder & Director, AMAL Foundation
After an internship at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Esrat returned to Bangladesh to contribute to the welfare of the country, founding AMAL with a few friends. Today, her Foundation’s contributions towards Education, Disaster support, Woment and Children Empowerment, and healthcare has granted her national and international recognitions, including a place in Forbes’ 30 under 30 Asia in 2020.
Organization: Founder & CEO, Moner Bondhu
Tawhida Shiropa founded “Moner Bondhu” to start creating awareness and breaking stigma on mental health issues and treatment, while providing solutions, treatment and quality mental healthcare service to those in need of it. Moner Bondhu is a challenging undertaking in a country where people ignore mental illness and consequently suffer the effects of poor mental health care services, societal taboo and lack of awareness.
Organization: Founder & Executive Director, Gen Lab
Ratul Dev founded Gen Lab in 2015 with a vision to engage youth across the world for peaceful, tolerant and inclusive communities. Since its inception, he worked with Government ministries, UN bodies, non-profits, universities and media houses in Bangladesh and connected youth in Bangladesh and SAARC countries in programs focusing on peace, climate change and gender rights.
Event Details
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