The Corporate Social Responsibility Award

The East African spoke to Nimrod E Mkono, Chairman of Bank M. Bank M is the lead sponsor of the first East African CSR Awards taking place alongside the World Economic Forum in Dar es Salaam.

What is the idea behind the first Bank M East African CSR Awards?

Bank M East African Corporate Social Responsibility Awards are an opportunity to recognise excellent corporate social responsibility projects driven and implemented by businesses in East Africa.

The aim of the awards is to restate good practice by recognising what constitutes best-in-class CSR. The awards are taking place alongside the World Economic Forum Africa – which itself is in East Africa for the first time.

It is a fantastic opportunity to showcase successful regional businesses. The first ceremony will take place on the 4th of May where winners in four categories will be selected from a shortlist.

Why has Bank M chosen to sponsor the Awards?

We have chosen to sponsor the Awards because it is our belief that organisations have the power to make a positive contribution to economic and social development.

We actively support and drive local community projects and we are keen to support the good work that fellow businesses are doing across East Africa.

As a leading corporate bank, we work very closely with a wide range of businesses and we understand that good CSR is part of good business practice. It indicates that the company can manage its risks and operations well and has good governance systems in place.

Why is CSR important? Why should companies practice it?

As mentioned, good CSR practice is an indication that the business is managing its risks, has good governance systems in place and takes on board its full responsibilities as a corporate citizen.

In East Africa, for businesses to flourish, many development challenges need to be addressed, such as ensuring that there is an available talent pool to source employees from, and that they are healthy and fit.

Companies have both a responsibility and an interest in making sure that the natural resources they use are not irreversibly depleted.

And businesses can only grow in environments which are conducive to trade which means good infrastructure such as roads and energy supply, as well as effective policies on tax and trade.

By addressing and understanding these external issues means that businesses can act pro-actively to overcome obstacles.

However, the cornerstone of good CSR begins within the company by supporting its own staff, suppliers and reflecting the passion the company has for issues that affect people in its community.

What critical areas can Bank M claim credit in terms of responsible business and CSR?

Caring for the community in which we live and operate in has been an abiding passion for all of us at Bank M. Towards this, we have concentrated our energies on doing our best for enhancing the quality of our environment and extending our support to talented but not yet recognised local artists.

We are actively supporting talented local artists by recognising and displaying their works in our offices. So far we have been able to significantly support several local artists to grow into their rightful places of recognition.

As part of our efforts to improve our environment, we ensure that all our branches and offices are renovated using eco-friendly materials.

We have extensively developed the areas surrounding our offices into green zones and gardens. In partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Dar es Salaam and UNEP, we are also involved in the planting of 100,000 trees in the region.

What would Bank M like to see as a result of these awards?

We look forward to continue sponsoring and supporting the awards, raising both its profile and showcasing best practice CSR.

The case studies of the awards will provide great lessons to businesses looking at developing effective CSR programmes. Better CSR programmes mean better business practice and ultimately, more communities benefiting from the companies that seek to serve them.

Demonstrating that East African businesses take their responsibility to good business and their communities seriously will be powerful tool in driving the region’s profile and prosperity on the international scene.