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In corporate social responsibility, it is also rare to find financial institutions who manage to take their contributions beyond the occasional charitable donations, but rather put their financial acumen to good use in the community.
One that did just that was Citi. What was particularly impressive about Citi’s work in CSR was how it focused on providing financial and market solutions to address pressing issues in a large number of Middle Eastern countries, often by partnering with local players.
In Jordan and Lebanon, Citi has collaborated with Ruwwad Micro-Venture Fund, a private sector-led non-profit community empowerment organization that helps disadvantaged groups overcome marginalization through youth activism, civic engagement and education. Citi’s project with Ruwwad trains and funds young entrepreneurs from those groups. During 2016, the project helped 100 micro-entrepreneurs in those two countries.
Citi’s work on financial inclusion also led it to work with the University of Dubai and Dubai SME, a public-sector entity focused on supporting aspiring entrepreneurs. Citi also set up a micro-entrepreneurship cash award, which has benefited growing firms in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt and other countries in the region.
Through its partnership with Injaz Al-Arab, Citi has supported financial literacy in Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE. Citi promotes four programmes for high-school and university students as part of that collaboration.
Citi has also supported Education for Employment, a network of locally run affiliated non-profit organizations in the UAE that develop and deliver tailored courses for unemployed youths in the Middle East and North Africa.
In Israel, meanwhile, Citi promoted entrepreneurship and innovation in the country’s Arab community, mainly among the low-income youth in three different cities. As part of the programme, Citi employees volunteer to meet with participants and provide them with mentorship, networking and the soft skills that they may lack.
