When we decided to become a founding signatory of the United Nations Environment Programme – Finance Initiative, our goal was clear: We wanted to collaborate with global entities to help promote responsible and sustainable investments and operations in the banking sector. Through this excellent partnership, we unearthed unique opportunities to serve collective wellbeing. Not only have we become a voice for the banking sector among regional and global sustainability agendas, but we were also able to pioneer more movements under the UNEP-FI’s umbrella that accelerate the net-zero track.

We became a signatory of the principles for responsible banking alongside 29 other global banks, creating a solid international standard against which banks can assess their impact. We then moved on to become a founding signatory of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and pledged to align with frameworks that promote sustainable investments and decarbonize and diversify our investment portfolios. We also play a major role with the alliance as a representative of Africa’s banking sector, with our CEO and CSO now appointed members of the NZBA’s steering committee.

It is our profound belief that consistent and unified global action is one of the main avenues for tangible, long-term change. It is why we prioritize these large-scale collaborations and continue to foster them in strength and scope, and why we take pride in representing and leading their agendas and action plans across country, region, and globe.