Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In April 2020, Standard Chartered, a leading international banking group, came up with a $50 million COVID- 19 Global Charitable Fund.
The fund, divided in two phases, was created to help recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in the communities and markets in which it operates.
In phase one, the firm provided $25 million emergency relief for communities and so far, it has donated $21.9 million to 128 NGOs, charities and other partners across 52 markets in Nepal, India, the United Kingdom and the United States.
It was gathered that partner organisations were selected based on their understanding of local needs and their ability to provide rapid support to individuals and communities.
Donations have been used to support frontline healthcare workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) and other support services; fund medical equipment and testing; support social services for vulnerable groups, such as food provision, housing assistance, visits and advice; enable health and hygiene communication, and help young people to continue their education.
Under the second phase of the scheme, the Standard Chartered hopes to use the other $25 million for economic recovery to support education, employability and entrepreneurship projects for young people through Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, its global initiative to tackle inequality.
This increases the total commitment to young people through Futuremakers from $50 million to $75 million between 2019 and 2023.
Given the need to deliver rapid support, the organisation said new funding for COVID-19 recovery projects should start in August 2020 with a target to commit all funds by the end of 2021.
Projects will specifically respond to COVID-19 challenges and will protect learning opportunities for young people by supporting access to education, protect livelihoods by training young people to regain employment and support micro and small businesses to begin operating again.
Commenting, the Group Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing, Tracey McDermott, said: “I am proud of how we have worked with our NGO partners to provide rapid relief to some of the most vulnerable in the communities in which we operate.
“Now, as we focus on supporting economic recovery, we aim to help young people rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
“Through Futuremakers, our priority is to get young people back into education and training or employment and to support micro entrepreneurs to get their businesses back up and running as soon as possible.”
