UniCredit becomes main partner for Finance 4 Social Change
By AmChamPublished On 23/10/2020
The objective of F4SC, financed by the European Union’s Danube Transnational Programme, is to identify, support, and reward social enterprises and entrepreneurs through a well-structured selection process of some 250 applicants. The project provides the perfect platform for UniCredit SIB to directly support social entrepreneurship as a driver of social development and progress across the Bank’s different markets, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia.
The project is intended to support businesses and entrepreneurs who promote positive changes in the Danube region thanks to its carefully designed activities which aim paving the way for promoting more social innovations and development of investment-ready social enterprises.
UniCredit colleagues will participate in workshops of the Social Impact Business Plan Competition, offering their expertise and mentorship to the participants. They will also take part in the jury that will select the four winning projects in pitching sessions in 2021.
Said Roberta Marracino, head of UniCredit Group ESG Strategy and Impact Banking: ‘At UniCredit, ESG [environmental, social, and corporate governance] is a core part of our DNA and the business strategy of the Bank. This includes a strong commitment to social issues where we have a growing ambition to help drive change by offering concrete support to entrepreneurs and initiatives with a significant positive social impact. The Finance for Social Change project is one such example, helping us do our part and offer tangible and meaningful support to the different communities where we operate.’
‘We want to be a driver and facilitator of change in order to improve our society. To do well, you have to do good. With Social Impact Banking and through participation in the Finance 4 Social Change project, we are expanding our social commitment in Serbia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our local partners in Serbia in this project, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia’, commented Feza Tan, CEO of UniCredit Bank Serbia.
UniCredit SIB was first launched in Italy in late 2017. In 2019, the programme was rolled out in 10 additional Group markets, including Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, and Hungary. Since its launch, SIB has supported more than 4,000 beneficiaries through Microcredit and Impact Financing, as well as providing various financial education programmes to the benefit of some 50.000 young people and disadvantaged individuals
