The National Bank of Kuwait’s (NBK) approach to corporate responsibility rests on its depth of impact over time more than breadth of activity. In 2025, that principle produced measurable results across education, health and community welfare, underpinned by a formal governance structure and a corporate social responsibility (CSR) budget that grew from KWD1.7 million in 2024 to KWD2.2 million by year-end 2025.
The centrepiece of NBK’s 2025 CSR programme is Bankee, Kuwait’s first national financial literacy initiative for elementary schools. Developed in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Kuwait Authority for Anti-Corruption (Nazaha), the programme creates a classroom economy in which students earn, save, spend and donate using a virtual currency, supported by physical Bankee stores, digital tools and teacher training. By 2025, Bankee operated in 60 schools across all governorates, reaching 32,257 students and generating more than 1.8 million platform transactions since launch.
The programme’s cost efficiency has improved markedly with scale: cost per student fell from KWD129 in 2023 to KWD34 in 2025. Independent evaluation by the National Centre for Social Research confirmed measurable behavioural outcomes, including an 88.3% financial understanding score, 96.6% saving behaviour and 96.2% planning and budgeting behaviour among participants.
NBK’s Ramadan programme in 2025 reached more than 6,800 beneficiaries through seven distinct initiatives combining food security, road safety, cultural engagement and food-waste reduction
Parent surveys showed further household impact, with 67% reporting more responsible financial behaviour at home and 66% noting increased money conversations with their children. Bankee won the Best Private Sector Programme in the Field of Social Work across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in September 2025 and was showcased by Nazaha at the UN Convention against Corruption conference in New York as a model for integrity education.
Beyond education, NBK’s Ramadan programme in 2025 reached more than 6,800 beneficiaries through seven distinct initiatives combining food security, road safety, cultural engagement and food-waste reduction. The programme distributed 1,560 iftar meals over 30 days, operated 12 food-saving refrigerators across NBK branches to reach 2,880 beneficiaries, and deployed 800 road-safety fasting boxes at intersections before iftar. One hundred NBK volunteers contributed between 48 and 60 hours across these activations.
The NBK Run drew 7,000 participants across 5km, 10km and 21km distances, with para-athletes integrated into the mainstream event rather than treated as a separate category. Post-event surveys showed 94% of participants intend to maintain a more active lifestyle and 90% reported increased confidence in NBK’s role in promoting community health.
Total beneficiaries reached across NBK’s CSR programmes grew from 54,000 at end-2024 to 75,034 by end-2025, with the bank’s centralised CSR team and Social & Community Development Committee providing structured project selection, non-governmental organisation (NGO) due diligence, and post-implementation evaluation across all initiatives.
