KBZ
KBZ Bank, led by chief executive Mike DeNoma, is the largest bank in Myanmar by many measures, which means it can reach communities in need, funding schools, healthcare and programmes on a level its peers can’t match.
The bank recently revamped its internal culture by spreading three core values: ‘Loving-kindness, courage and perseverance’ or ‘Metta, Thet Ti and Virya’.
To act on that spirit and oversee its corporate social responsibility activity, KBZ created a social purpose and impact partnership committee in December 2019. Since then, the committee has contributed $1.1 million to nine projects.
One of KBZ’s key initiatives is to provide medicine and treatment to children with cleft lip and palates. Working with Myanmar’s ministry of health and sports and with Singapore-based charity Smile Asia, the bank has led eight outreach missions over the last three years, most recently to the capital Nay Pyi Taw in December. The project has so far helped 675 children, who are brought to Yangon for free operations.
The bank is involved in a project in Yangon to clean up back-streets and create safe spaces, including creating public murals. It set aside funds to help people in the aftermath of natural disasters such as floods, droughts and cyclones.
In July 2019, KBZ introduced a donation function to its KBZPay mobile wallet: in the six months to the end of the year, it channelled K28.2 million ($19,448) to organizations including Yangon Rescue Organization and Nurture Aids Center. It plans to expand its donation initiative to cover six non-profits including Mary Chapman’s School for the Deaf, the Muslim Free Hospital and Medical Relief Society, and charity Save the Aged.