DBS Foundation supports Social Enterprises in India to create impact in areas of Environmental Sustainability and Social Inclusion

MUMBAI, India, March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DBS Foundation, with its continuous focus on sustainability, has awarded grants to three Indian Social Enterprises through its Social Enterprise Grant Programme. The Social Enterprises that have been awarded grants this year are working towards diverse social impact areas. Recity Network focuses on sustainable waste management, Trestle Labs is actively redefining the education space, and Jovaki Agro Food aims to empower tribal women. 

DBS Foundation's vision is to nurture businesses working towards good. The Social Enterprise Grant Programme evaluates a long list of applicants and awards the most promising and impactful organisations to help them scale and create impact. Each of the grant winners receive grant money over two years. 

Jovaki Agro Food (JAF) has engaged with 1200+ underprivileged tribal women farmers in producing organic products from underutilised fruits in forested areas, thereby empowering them socially and financially. On the environmental front, JAF, through its business model, continues to highlight the importance of forests and the economic opportunities offered by forest fruits, therefore, reducing deforestation, waste reduction, and climate resilience. The DBS grant will allow the social enterprise to expand its business operations, creating livelihood opportunities for 18,000 tribal people in the long run while preserving the country's green cover.

With the DBS grant, Recity Network will scale up their plastic waste management operations, thereby diverting more plastic trash away from oceans for recycling. 

Trestle Labs, the third winner of the DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant, will use the funds for development and scaling up 'Kibo' - an end-to-end solution that enables the visually impaired to conduct daily activities independently through real-time access to printed, handwritten and digital content in 60 global languages. The grant will help make this solution accessible to more than 60,000 visually impaired individuals across five countries in Asia and improve their quality of life.

Speaking on these engagements, Shoma Narayanan, Managing Director, Group Strategic Marketing & Communications, DBS Bank India, said, "We actively support social entrepreneurs who use innovative and financially sustainable solutions to address environmental and social concerns. DBS Foundation's grant to Jovaki Agro Food, Recity Network, and Trestle Labs will enable them to make a greater impact in areas such as environment, livelihood, education, food waste, and food security, among others."

Apart from the financial support from DBS Foundation, the businesses will receive support towards achieving their growth plans, including skills training and capacity-building, opening doors to external networking, business, and funding opportunities. 

DBS Bank is committed to doing business responsibly and sustainably while reducing its environmental footprint and creating social impact beyond business. DBS Foundation identifies, supports, and fuels the scaling up of innovative growth stage enterprises driving positive social change through their products and services. It also intends to create a purpose-driven social entrepreneurship community in Asia to establish meaningful connections and foster collaborations to make the world better.

DBS Foundation, Singapore's first foundation dedicated to championing social entrepreneurship, was established in 2014 to support the growth of innovative businesses-for-impact. Since then, it has given over SGD 10 million in grants to more than 90 such businesses in the region and nurtured 800 others through its development programs. 

Recently, the bank committed an additional SGD 100 million to further its efforts to improve lives in Asia. The funds will catalyse the work of the DBS Foundation and the bank's various philanthropic and crisis relief measures. The additional SGD 100 million in funding will allow the bank and DBS Foundation to boost their support for purpose-driven businesses and do more to address the region's increasingly pressing societal issues.

The funds will also be used to support other philanthropic initiatives and relief measures for communities in need during times of the pandemic. 

At the onset of the pandemic in 2020, DBS created the SGD 10.5 million DBS Stronger Together Fund and provided 4.5 million meals and care packs, as well as medical supplies, to help communities hard-hit by Covid-19. DBS also has an active volunteerism programme, with employees contributing 100,000 volunteering hours and reaching out to over 390,000 beneficiaries in 2021 alone. 

Know about all the social enterprises supported by DBS through DBS Foundation Social Enterprise Grant Programme in 2021.

About DBS

DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 18 markets. Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named "World's Best Bank" by Euromoney, "Global Bank of the Year" by The Banker and "Best Bank in the World" by Global Finance. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named "World's Best Digital Bank" by Euromoney and the world's "Most Innovative in Digital Banking" by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the "Safest Bank in Asia" award by Global Finance for 13 consecutive years from 2009 to 2021. DBS was also ranked No. 1 on Forbes' list of the World's Best Banks in India for two consecutive years. 

DBS Bank has been present in India for 28 years, opening its first office in Mumbai in 1994. DBS Bank India Limited is the first among the large foreign banks in India to start operating as a wholly-owned, locally incorporated subsidiary of a leading global bank. DBS provides an entire range of banking services for large, medium and small enterprises and individual consumers in India. In 2016, DBS launched India's first mobile-only bank – digibank, which now has ~1 million savings accounts. In November 2020, Lakshmi Vilas Bank was amalgamated with DBS Bank India Limited. The bank now has a network of nearly 600 branches across 19 states in India. 

DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region's most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established an SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia. In 2020, DBS introduced the "Towards Zero Food Waste" initiative as part of a global sustainability practice to encourage a shift in behaviours and mindsets to reduce food waste. 

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all our 30,000+ staff representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.