On June 12-13, 2013 the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI), in cooperation with the Egyptian Corporate Responsibility Center (ECRC), held a Training Course on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Inclusive Banking. The training course was delivered by Geoffrey Mazullo, Principal, Emerging Markets ESG.
13 participants, representing communications, human resources, operations and retail departments of six Egyptian banks as well as the inspection department of the Central Bank of Egypt attended the course.
The course was designed and conducted didactically, with a focus on mastering skills and tools which participants could apply in their day to day work. It included a mix of case studies, exercises, group exercises, matrices, methodologies, presentations, surveys and templates.
During the first day of the course dedicated to CSR in banking, presentations covered the following subjects: environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators; CSR, ESG and socially responsible investment (SRI); and ESG indicators, sustainability and financial performance. A case study examined stakeholder engagement on controversial weapons.
During the second day of the course dedicated to inclusive banking, presentations covered the following subjects: concepts and definitions; key performance indicators (KPIs) and methodologies; goals and strategies. Utilizing practical examples, primarily about and from Africa, the trainer and participants formed a consensus that inclusive banking combines the developmental concept of inclusion with the pragmatic, commercial practice of banking. Case studies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya and South Africa analyzed failures and successes of recent forays into inclusive banking and microfinance, In small groups, participants analyzed the case studies and discussed the trade-offs between the developmental goal of access to finance and operational issues such as loan analysis and risk management.
During both days of the course participants discussed the perspectives of academics, experts and practitioners featured in Emerging Markets ESG’s weekly interview series, “Five Questions about SRI” and monthly special interview series.
In addition to the handouts and presentations, participants received a detailed bibliography of articles and resources about CSR in the banking sector, inclusive banking and microfinance.