Laila Hosni, head of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainable development at the Bank of Alexandria (AlexBank), said that the institution allocates over EGP 22m per year for CSR activities.
Hosni told Daily News Egypt that the bank focuses on healthcare, education, agriculture, and handicrafts, noting that it operates all over Egypt, with some focus on Upper Egypt and Sinai.
“AlexBank is sponsoring over 3,500 craftspeople around the republic, especially in Qena, Sohag, and Sinai—the areas with most artisans,” she explained.
AlexBank was recently named the best bank for CSR in the Middle East by Euromoney Magazine, which specialises in evaluating the performance of banks and financial institutions, in recognition of its outstanding efforts in sustainable development and corporate responsibility in Egypt.
According to Hosni, the bank’s receipt of honour is the culmination of its efforts in the area of social responsibility, which focuses largely on the support of handicrafts and education, especially technical education, and also support homeless children and environmental development.
She added that the participation rate of employees in the bank’s activities of collective responsibility is one of the highest in the Middle East as a whole, noting that 30% of employees volunteer in and donate to its CSR initiative, which supported the bank’s receipt of the recognition.
In response to a question about the most prominent bodies with which the bank cooperates in the activity of social responsibility, Hosni said that AlexBank signed several cooperation protocols with governmental and non-governmental bodies in the field, including the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Egyptian Export Council for Handicrafts (EECH), Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, Fair Trade Egypt, and Nedaa Foundation, as well as a cooperation protocol with the Ministry of Social Solidarity in order to support and empower more than 20,000 creative craftspeople and artisans.
