KCB Bank believes in going beyond banking, and hence, supporting the community around its operations comes with pride. The bank carries out both Corporate Social responsibility and Corporate Social investment; however, it embarks on the latter on a larger scale.
Social investment is the flip side of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Where CSR focuses on accountability, CSI is about making a financial commitment to worthwhile projects, charities, or endeavors that improve both the goodwill and the economic condition of the community. KCB Bank commits to sustainable projects that support the community and bring about positive changes. The bank’s sustainable community investment program is called 2jiajiri.
2jiajiri is a corporate social investment program that is carried out across the KCB Group. KCB Bank Tanzania adopted this program in 2016 by focusing more on long-term community investment than donation programs. The program focuses on addressing unemployment in the country, with a major emphasis on self-employment, and aims to empower the community by designing strategies and activities that improve their skills, capacities, and opportunities. The interventions are designed to enable the community to achieve control over factors affecting the production and distribution of income and benefits.
From 2016 to 2024, 2,185 women and young people benefited from this program through vocational and entrepreneurship training.
KCB Bank also supports the Government through sectors such as:
These women received entrepreneurship training in the classroom for five consecutive days and practical training in their businesses, later some of them received grants of TZS 5 million each to develop their businesses.
Youth were trained in Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA) in trades of graphic designing, hair dressing, beauty therapy, welding and fabrication, tailoring, truck mechanics, food processing and hotel management.
118 beneficiaries from 2019 cohort joined 186 youth and received entrepreneurship training in VETA.
These beneficiaries were trained at VETA, VTA and SIDO for six months. Some were linked in the job market, granted startup toolkits to start their businesses, supported to establish their own enterprises and were given coaching and mentorship by the bank.
Tanzania has a large youth with over 60% of its population. Women make up slightly above 50% of the population. Youth and women face several challenges that hinder their economic and social development like, unemployment, lack of access to education especially with quality education and vocational training which remains inconsistence, poor access to finances, poor knowledge in entrepreneurship etc. A focused problem analysis of youth and women in Tanzania is essential for fostering economic growth, promoting social equity, and achieving sustainable development. By understanding the unique challenges, they face, KCB Bank has found it best to increase skills for youth and women in Tanzania, so that they can become economically independent through employment and self-employment.
KCB Bank's vision is to bring about change in society through youth and women in order to create a positive long-term impact on the community. Through its 2jiajiri projects, KCB Bank has increased the skills of young people and women in various areas, including business operations in general and various types of crafts, including construction and entrepreneurship.
Young people and women have been trained in keeping and investing money, knowledge of banking systems, services and products, work and business discipline, customer service and laws that protect them.
In 2021, KCB Bank entered a partnership with NEEC to provide entrepreneurship training to its 2jiajiri beneficiaries by linking the bank with key stakeholder groups at discounted prices and providing free use of event venues where necessary. Through this partnership, the Bank trained 304 youth in entrepreneurship development.
In October 2021, KCB Bank Tanzania, through the KCB Foundation, entered into a 50-50 joint venture with GIZ, a German organization to improve the economic conditions of 960 young people, KCB giving EUR 423,000 and GIZ giving the same amount of money if it is equal to 2.2 Billion Tanzanian shillings.
KCB Bank partnered with TEA to provide 1500 school desks to needy schools in Dar es Salaam some years ago.
KCB Bank also supports the Government through sectors such as: