HSBC announces regional Covid-19 charity projects

Global bank HSBC has pledged its immediate support to a string of projects in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE to help an estimated 80,000 underprivileged individuals and families impacted by Covid-19 pandemic, it announced on April 13.

The disbursements, which will be furnished in cooperation with HSBC’s partner charities around the region, will also help hospital workers in the frontline fight against the virus.

“Our efforts in MENAT as part of the Group’s $25m Covid-19 charitable fund will be vitally important to our local communities. We have acted quickly to the urgent call for support by putting our resources to work where they have the biggest impact and donating to specific projects so that we are able to ensure accountability and track the real impact our funding has had on people’s lives,” said Sabrin Rahman, HSBC’s head of sustainability in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT).

“We carefully selected local charity partners that have track records of being able to identify and help vulnerable communities by getting them food, medicine and education resources,” Rahman added.

As much as $505,000 has been allocated to projects in the UAE, which is expected to reach around 13,720 people. Meanwhile, the bank’s contributions in MENAT will account for $1.2m of the $25m global fund, supporting the bank’s existing long-term community programmes.

HSBC MENAT’s student-focused future skills programme will pivot to be delivered remotely, using digital learning channels, while its entrepreneur-focused initiatives, such as the Social Impact Accelerator (C3) and the TiE Mentorship Programme, will also adopt digital and remote sessions.

This contribution follows HSBC Group’s recent announcement of a $25m Covid-19 charitable fund to support the international medical response, protect vulnerable people and ensure food security.

Other financial institutions in the UAE have also pldged their support in ongoing efforts to battle the coronavirus. Dubai-headquartered Emirates Islamic contributed Dhs10m to support the Community Solidarity Fund Against Covid-19 launched by the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) in Dubai.

Read: Emirates Islamic contributes Dhs10m to UAE’s Covid-19 relief fund

Meanwhile, on April 6, UAE-based banks Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic pledged Dhs4m from their charity fund towards the UAE’s Ministry of Education (MoE) to facilitate the ongoing nation-wide distance learning programmes.

Read more: UAE’s Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic pledge Dhs4m to education ministry

The contribution – which comprises of Dhs2m from Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic each – will help provide laptops to UAE students to support their e-learning endeavours.