Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered has announced a commitment to empower a further 500,000 disadvantaged girls through Goal, the Bank’s flagship sport-for-development programme that provides financial education and life skills training to girls aged between 12 and 20.
Goal, launched by Standard Chartered in 2006, will reach 89,000 girls through its partnerships with local and international NGOs in India, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Jordan, Lebanon, Zambia, Tanzania and Nigeria by the end of the year. This new commitment aims to make significantly more impact by reaching a further 500,000 girls from low-income communities across Asia, Africa and the Middle East by the end of 2018. Expansion will not be limited to countries where Goal is already running, though – the programme’s impact will expand to Myanmar over the coming months.
In addition to increasing the scale of Goal, Standard Chartered will also extend the potential to empower young girls through integrating workplace development and employability more heavily in the programme, for example by arranging placements and internships within Standard Chartered, as well as clients and suppliers.
Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, said in the seven years since Goal was first launched, the programme has helped young girls think about their future in a different way. “By combining sports with education, the programme helps equip girls with necessary life skills, education and confidence. In many of our markets, there is massive latent potential waiting to be unlocked – by expanding the reach of our Goal programme to even more girls across low-income communities, we hope to provide them with the right tools and knowledge to make informed choices as they move into adulthood, and to empower them to be more active economic participants in their communities.”
This new commitment for Goal was revealed at this year’s Clinton Global Initiative, an annual event hosted by former US President Bill Clinton that brings together, with the aim of creating positive social change, heads of state, Nobel Prize laureates, leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, and major philanthropists. The commitment to expand its Goal programme is part of Standard Chartered’s membership pledge to make commitments that focus on addressing a significant global challenge.
