StanChart to sponsor banking, financial studies
Baboki Kayawe | Thursday May 21, 2015 15:51
The bank said they took the initiative because locals have been found wanting in the sector. In addition, the move supports the government’s vision of promoting skills readiness and availability.
At a press briefing yesterday in Gaborone, Standard Bank chief executive officer, Moatlhodi Lekaukau said skills inadequacy in the finance sector has rendered the country unattractive to do business. “For some years the majority shareholders of the group have been brainstorming on how to achieve broader ownership of the company,” he said.
He said realisation of the skills deficiency in the finance and banking sectors that has resulted in rotation of the same pool of human resources in banking and finance institutions propelled the bank to set up the Standard Chartered Education Trust.
Lekaukau explained that the Trust was established by deed of trust notarised December last year. To further its community development agenda, he said shareholders saw the need to establish the Trust as an independent one, with a stack of 0.84 percent; making it one of the largest shareholders in the bank, he added. Lekaukau said the shares acquired in an off market transaction, were wholly funded by the Standard Chartered Group.
Managed by an independent Board of Trustees - whom Lekaukau described as experts in the field of education, and areas of banking and finance - the educational trust would benefit citizens of Botswana through promotion of educational services, provision of funding, resources, facilities and an enabling environment for academic development among others.
“The Trust would offer scholarships or bursaries for the purposes of education and maintenance during such education of any beneficiary. The trustees would choose how best this should be achieved. Other beneficiaries would be sponsored to take up studies in local institutions, and some would be placed abroad based on how the trustees see fit,” he said.
The scholarships and bursaries are to carter for both undergraduate and graduate studies in educational institutions offering business and management studies, economics, asset management, private equity and venture capital, debt and capital raising, investment analysis, insurance and banking & finance.
“We are proud to conclude a citizen empowerment transaction that is broad based in nature as a wide range of Batswana will benefit from the dividends and value appreciation of the Bank,” said Lekaukau.
The Trust is expected to launch soon. The national human resource custodian, the Human Resource Development Council, as in line with the national development plan as well as the Economic Diversification Drive strategy has identified the finance and business services together with the nine other driving sectors of mining, mineral, energy and water, tourism, agriculture, creative industries, manufacturing and transport as key to unlocking growth in Botswana’s economy.