Sampath Bank, the third largest private commercial bank in Sri Lanka and renowned for its innovative approaches to banking, has been awarded the prestigious Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Award 2015 under the Health Promotion category. 

The bank was honoured for its sustained efforts under the ‘Hope for a Life’ CSR programme and the endowment of a Neuro Navigator System at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka.  Sampath Bank PLC Managing Director Aravinda Perera and Sampath Bank PLC Marketing and Business Development DGM Tharaka Ranwala received the award on behalf of the bank at the award ceremony held recently in Macau SAR in China.

Enterprise Asia’s Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards programme (AREA) recognizes and honours Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in categories such as green leadership, investment in people, health promotion, social empowerment, SME CSR and responsible business leadership. The awards are held among companies operating in the four sub regions of Asia and culminated in a large award ceremony consisting of international business and government leaders, diplomatic representatives and international media. 

The ‘Hope for a Life’ CSR project was initiated by Sampath Bank to elevate the standards of Sri Lanka’s health sector and address some of its most critical issues. Having identified several areas of development, Sampath Bank decided to formulate a long-term, cohesive CSR programme to impact the lives of the country’s citizens and enhance the quality of the country’s healthcare services. The first phase of the programme was the endowment of a Neuro Navigator System at the National Hospital. This Navigator System is the first of its kind, gifted to a government hospital by a private commercial bank in Sri Lanka and has yielded remarkable results since its donation. 

“This award reinforces Sampath Bank’s commitment to continuously give back to the country and foster a culture of integrity and compassion. We have always endeavoured to make sure that our CSR activities are attuned towards societal needs and the country’s welfare and are humbled and delighted that our efforts have been recognized,” said Perera.

“A strong sense of social ethics has always been intertwined with Sampath Bank’s business values and we will continue to strive to be at the forefront of the business world while making CSR a topmost priority and an ingrained part of our culture.”

Ranwala commented on Sampath Bank’s concentrated approach towards CSR and highlighted the next phase of the project. “Sampath Bank formulates its CSR programmes after a thorough understanding of the various socio-economic needs of society instead of one-off, fragmented activities. The ‘Hope for a Life’ project is a pertinent result of this research after identifying the need for better health services for our citizens and is a long-term, sustained effort to add value to the country,” said Ranwala. 

Sampath Bank operates on a ‘5E CSR Model’ which focuses on education for development, empowerment of community, ethics and values, environment protection and conservation and entrepreneurship development.