Sampath Bank’s CSR efforts recognised at Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards 2015

Standing from left: Taiwan former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Environment Dr. Eugene Chien, Sampath Bank DGM – Marketing and Business Development Tharaka Ranwala, Sampath Bank Managing Director Aravinda Perera and Enterprise Asia President Dato William Ng

Sampath Bank, the third largest private commercial bank in Sri Lanka and renowned for its innovative approaches to banking, announced that it has been awarded the prestigious Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Award 2015 under the health promotion category. 

The bank was honoured for its sustained efforts under the ‘Hope for a Life’ CSR program and the endowment of a neuro navigator system at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. Sampath Bank PLC Managing Director Aravinda Perera and Sampath Bank PLC DGM Marketing and Business Development Tharaka Ranwala received the award on behalf of the bank at the award ceremony held on 19 June at Macau SAR in China.

Enterprise Asia’s Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards (AREA) program recognises and honours Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in categories such as Green Leadership, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Social Empowerment, SME CSR and Responsible Business Leadership. 

The awards are held among companies operating in the four sub regions of Asia and culminated in a large award ceremony consisting of international business and government leaders, diplomatic representatives and international media. 

The ‘Hope for a Life’ CSR project was initiated by Sampath Bank to elevate the standards of Sri Lanka’s health sector and address some of its most critical issues. Having identified several areas of development, Sampath Bank decided to formulate a long-term, cohesive CSR program to impact the lives of the country’s citizens and enhance the quality of the country’s healthcare services. 

The first phase of the program was the endowment of a neuro navigator system at the National Hospital. This navigator system is the first of its kind gifted to a Government hospital by a private commercial bank in Sri Lanka and has yielded remarkable results since its donation. 

“This award reinforces Sampath Bank’s commitment to continuously give back to the country and foster a culture of integrity and compassion. We have always endeavoured to make sure that our CSR activities are attuned towards societal needs and the country’s welfare and are humbled and delighted that our efforts have been recognised,” said Perera. 

“A strong sense of social ethics has always been intertwined with Sampath Bank’s business values and we will continue to strive to be at the forefront of the business world while making CSR a topmost priority and an ingrained part of our culture.”

Ranwala commented on Sampath Bank’s concentrated approach towards CSR and highlighted the next phase of the project. “Sampath Bank formulates its CSR programs after a thorough understanding of the various socio-economic needs of society instead of one-off, fragmented activities. The ‘Hope for a Life’ project is a pertinent result of this research after identifying the need for better health services for our citizens and is a long-term, sustained effort to add value to the country.”

Sampath Bank operates on a ‘5E CSR Model’ which focuses on Education for Development; Empowerment of Community; Ethics and Values; Environment Protection and Conservation and Entrepreneurship Development. The bank has carried out several small and medium scale CSR projects in rural and semi urban regions of Sri Lanka such as Grade 5 scholarship programs, the restoration of the Dematawa Tank (Wewata Jeewayak) and entrepreneurship development programs (Sampath Saviya). 

The bank has also undertaken numerous projects under  the ‘Hope for a Life’ to uplift the health sector such as landscaping the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, islandwide health camps and blood donation campaigns, in addition to the endowment of the neuro navigation system. 

Sampath Bank has been recognised for its CSR initiatives on numerous platforms such as the Best Corporate Citizens awards 2014 by Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2014 and also received the Best Community Leadership Award at the Asia Responsible Business Excellence Awards 2014 in Singapore. Sampath Bank will continue its journey of being a leading bank in Sri Lanka while spearheading innovative CSR initiatives and giving back to society.