Dear Readers,

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ecological disaster brought about by the MV Wakashio oil spill has surprisingly provided us with an opportunity to reset the way we cope with climate change and the way financial systems work. This is an opportunity for Sustainability Practitioners to push for investment in responsible companies, who have, according to researchers shown better resilience and less vulnerability in these tiring times. Every company has started thinking on the ‘What next’ and hopefully started to understand that profit goes hand in hand with people and planet.  Adaptation to climate change means a rethinking of our everyday tasks as well as a rethinking of longer-term strategies. We are the generation of change for a better tomorrow and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals can be the template to review how we can imagine and devise the world of tomorrow.  

With our 2021 sustainability vision, we have worked in laying the foundation of our strategy and growth for the coming years. Now in line with the 2030 agenda and our Responsible Bank commitment, we are rethinking our sustainability approach and plan to implement targets on key indicators that will allow us to monitor our progress. Our main focus will be the development of our four pillars of sustainability: Social, Workplace, Marketplace and Environment Responsibilities.

This year, we have signed a EUR 10 million credit line under the SUNREF III programme with the Agence Française du développement (AFD) and European Union to fund green and gender friendly projects. This has taken AfrAsia Bank to the next level in Green Financing. In addition, not only have we been successful in creating partnerships with organizations like the United Nations (UN), strategically through our workplace responsibility, AfrAsians have been integrating sustainability in their day to day job. We also pride ourselves in our efforts to produce clear and transparent reports on our extra financial indicators.

As an end note, I wish to highlight the efforts of our partners and champions from each department who have successfully allowed us to integrate sustainability at AfrAsia. SDGs remain one of the most important templates to consider for businesses in need of a model for this changing world. Along with our commitment to the 10 principles of the United Nations Global Compact since 2015, we have this year reinforced our commitment towards the Global Reporting Initiative Community.

Sustainably Yours,

Our sustainability strategy was devised in 2017 and is based on the 4 pillars of sustainability namely: Workplace Responsibility, Marketplace Responsibility, Social Responsibility and Environmental Responsibility. Throughout the years, we have focused on these 4 pillars to lead the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals within the Bank. The core focus was the development of our Social Responsibility Pillar, through the AfrAsia Foundation. We worked on changing the mindset of our staff and instill a culture of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. Several projects under the different pillars are currently in progress namely:

Workplace Responsibility

Marketplace Responsibility

Environmental Responsibility

Figure 1: Our 2021 Sustainability Strategy

Through our flagship annual event, the AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Summit, we also forge strong relationships and partnerships on sustainability topics across sectors.

Our collaboration with the United Nations also allowed us to take the lead in the incorporation of the Global Compact Network (Mauritius) Foundation. AfrAsia Bank currently chairs the board for the foundation and is recognized as one of the founder members.

Now that the groundworks have been laid, and keeping in mind, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we are realigning our sustainability agenda with a core focus on the development of our Foundation, greening of our Internal operations and growth of our sustainable Financial Products portfolio as well as the implementation of quantitative targets to monitor our progress.

Introduction of sustainability reporting in annual report.
First reporting to UNGC.
Development of our 4 sustainability pillars.

Enhanced status for UNGC.
Enhancement of our social & relationship and natural capitals through the creation of AfrAsia Foundation.
Sustainability Reporting on SDGs in annual report Sponsored film “Demain”.

Official launch of AfrAsia Foundation and AfrAsia School.
Participation in the SDG conference in India.
Working on developing Sustainability in our Integrated Report.
Research & Development on using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for our reports.
Development of a page dedicated to Sustainability on our website.
Health Awareness Initiatives (Movember, Women’s Health Month – free screening for staff).

Head of Corporate Sustainability & CSR nominated as chairperson of the Global Compact Advisory Committee to Mauritius.
Participation in UN conference (Making Global Goals Local Business) in Argentina.
Launch of Global Compact Network Mauritius with AfrAsia Bank as Chair.
Launch of first AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Summit.
Achieved Advanced Level on UNGC for Integrated Report 2018.
Participation in UN Conference (Making Global Goals Local Business) in Morocco.

Participation in Salon ProDurable.
GRI community member.
2-days awareness workshop for sustainability champions.
Launch of ABSS Breakfast Meet in Johannesburg.
Participation in the creation of the Voluntary National Review (VNR) report of Mauritius.
2^ndABSS Breakfast Meet in Singapore.
2^ndedition of AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Summit (ABSS).
1^stedition of AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Award during ABSS.
Launch of Green Car Loan – first green product of ABL.

Renewed commitment to United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and    GRI community membership.
Launch of second phase of AfrAsia School.
Prostrate Test and Chest X-Ray for male staff above 30 years (claimed under preventive care of medical insurance).
Incorporation of Global Compact Network (Mauritius) Foundation in Mauritius with AfrAsia’s head of Corporate sustainability & CSR as chairperson of the interim board.

A sustainability committee was set up in 2018 with representatives from each department (sustainability champions) to drive sustainability at the Bank. The champions have been trained by an MQA accredited training institution and are the main advocates of sustainability in their respective departments. The committee will be formalized with clear commitments from each Head of Departments and the duties and responsibilities of the champions will be clearly defined.

Throughout its 13 years of existence, AfrAsia Bank Limited (ABL) has gradually integrated principles of sustainability in its operations. Underpinning its commitment to strengthen the global understanding of sustainability and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Bank pioneered in 2018 its “AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Summit” (ABSS) in line with SDG 17 - Partnership for goals. The main objective of the summit has been and continues to be to map the opportunities, challenges and practical steps that will shape a sustainable future through partnerships with global organisations and institutions by addressing environmental, social and economic issues.

Following a successful inaugural launch, a second edition was hosted in 2019 in partnership with IBL Together - the largest conglomerate on the Island - and the United Nations (UN). ABSS 2019 welcomed 310 attendees from 16 countries, hosted 7 panel discussions with 41 panelists and regrouped 22 collaborators for its organisation. The 2019 edition also acted as a launchpad for the “AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Awards”, which aimed at rewarding local companies for driving sustainability. The awards were split into 2 categories: The Best Sustainability Project and the Best Sustainable Business.

ABSS garnered a total of MUR 1,026,292.03 throughout the 2-day Summit which was remitted to the social arm of ABL, AfrAsia Foundation.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in late December 2019 has had an unprecedented impact on the corporate world. From 19 March 2020 to 30 May 2020, Mauritius had imposed a “sanitary” lockdown and curfew for all the population and businesses.

As a Bank, AfrAsia has been able to keep its business running smoothly through the promotion of Work from home (WFH) during COVID-19, we asked 400+ of our staff to work as per this system. During a survey done by our HR department, it has been noted that more than 85% of respondents want to see WFH implemented on a regular basis. Our clients have also been encouraged to Bank Digitally.

From a Corporate Sustainability and CSR point of view, our two main projects were impacted:

1. AfrAsia Bank Sustainability Summit (ABSS) – the third edition of the ABSS has been postponed for 2021.
2. AfrAsia School – Home schooling measures have had to be implemented for the AfrAsia Kids by Ti-Rayons Soleil in order to ensure that they are not missing out on their learning activities during the lockdown. Phase 3 of AfrAsia School plans for extension has been postponed.

ABL’s financial performance is directly impacted by risks correlated to sustainability. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how certain businesses are vulnerable and unable to cope with unexpected crisis. AfrAsia Bank aims to conduct a complete sustainability risk assessment in the upcoming years.

The Customer Experience (CX) department ensures that the Bank delivers a positive and seamless customer experience at every touch point across the customer life cycle.

Figure 2: CX Department – Vision, Mission & Goal

Culture meetings have been held for each department and same was facilitated by the Human Resources team in collaboration with the culture Ambassadors.

The DARE Culture Ambassadors Group wishes to positively impact and influence all staff, by encouraging them in adopting the People, Planet and Profit approach in the activities that meet the needs of the enterprise and its stakeholders today while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future.

Sustainable HR is a core focus of the Sustainability department this year. We will continue to report and work on various aspects of Human Capital.

Figure 4: Main Strategy for development of Workplace Responsibility Pillar (Main projects only)

Figure 5: Our HR Strategy

At AfrAsia, we pride ourselves at being a responsible employer and we implement various initiatives to provide a positive and happy atmosphere for our employees. Our employees play a critical role in service innovation and value creation. They are among our most important stakeholders and we value their contribution towards making AfrAsia an “Employer of Choice”.

Figure 6: Gender Profile (includes Mauritius and South Africa)

Figure 7: Total Headcount (includes Mauritius and South Africa)

Figure 8: Types of contract by gender (Includes Mauritius and South Africa)

Figure 9: Age Profile (Includes Mauritius and South Africa)

In light with our goal to achieve excellence in customer service, we have a robust recruitment process in place to find the right profile for each job. We aim to attract top talents in the market through a variety of financial and non-financial benefits:

1. Competitive remuneration packages
2. Healthy work life balance through flexible working schedule, remote work and flexible contract
3. Employee benefits, including Loans (e.g. housing, car and personal) at very competitive interest rates
4. Fully paid medical insurance
5. Contribution to pension scheme
6. Performance reward culture

Figure 10: Recruitment profile by Age Group and Gender (includes Mauritius and South Africa) out of total of 49 recruitments for the year

Figure 11: Recruitment profile by Gender (includes Mauritius and South Africa) out of total of 49 recruitments for the year

We, at ABL, are committed to continue investing in our people. Our ultimate aim is to ensure that our employees feel valued, motivated to ensure the bank success in the long term. In the next financial year, with the concerns linked to the global pandemic, we intent to give more focus to on-line learning. Additionally, based on the Bank of Mauritius (BOM) new guidelines, more emphasis will be put on technical and mandatory trainings.

Through customized training sessions, we promote the development of a strong and high performing workforce. The various trainings conducted are categorised below:

Figure 12: Training categories out of a total of 114 trainings offered throughout the year

Over MUR 9.3m was invested in the development of our people; with over 8,000hrs of training being given to our employees.

Last year, we teamed up with Dale Carnegie to offer a range of soft skills courses. Following the success and feedback received from the participants, we have renewed our agreement with them.

Figure 13: Average training hours

Figure 14: Amount in MUR spent on training

Figure 15: Training hours and Investments comparison by Gender

With the curfew and lockdown imposed by the Mauritian Government from March to June 2020, we put greater emphasis on on-line learning. However, a decrease in the average hours of training per employees and investments were noted as a number of face to face sessions were postponed until the next financial year.

Through training and development, we also promote career advancement and the growth of our employees. We promote internal promotions and reward our top performers by giving them the opportunities to take on new roles with higher responsibilities. In the financial year 2019-2020, we promoted 60 employees across the business and ensured that they received the required trainings to support them in their new positions.

We also encourage manager-employee dialogue and feedback through a bi-annual performance appraisal through our Oracle HCM System, all our permanent employees are appraised.

Retention is a key aspect of our HR strategy. For 2019/20 our turnover rate was 11.1% with 43 exits. We have a structured process to gather feedback and comments from employees when they leave us. Reasons for leaving include further studies, better salary or benefits or the employee embarking on new projects locally or overseas.  The 11.1% also includes a number of terminated contracts/mutual exits.

Figure 16: Turnover rate

Despite introducing some new benefits & relooking at our policies after the introduction of the Workers Rights Act in October 2019, we noted a slight increase in turnover rate for 2019/20.

As part of our retention strategy, we monitor the return to work and retention rates for new parents, and we note we are doing quite well.

For the Financial Year 2019-2020, a total of 10 employees took parental leaves as per the Mauritian Law (5 females and 5 males). All of them returned to work after at the end of the parental leaves period.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against our employees or any job applicants on any basis including race, colour, religion, national origin, gender, physical or mental disability or age.

As seen throughout this chapter on our workplace responsibility, we pride ourselves at having an almost 1:1 ratio in relation to recruitment and training.

Through our grievance policy, we allow our employees to raise their concerns on matters such as discrimination, non-ethical practices etc. We view this as a positive step towards becoming a better employer. Disciplinary actions are taken as required after the investigation is completed.

At AfrAsia, as per our Safety and Health policy, we have a Safety and Health Committee in place as well as a Safety & Health Officer on a full-time basis, who conducts weekly inspections of our Mauritian premises. Unsafe conditions are reported through the committee members and we have an Accident at Work procedure to cope with work-related incidents and ill-health. The committee meets regularly and discusses on remedial actions, recommendations and suggestions to prevent and mitigate identified health & safety impacts linked to the Bank.

Additionally, safety trainings are dispensed to our staff and subcontractors (cleaners, tea ladies and security officers) and ergonomic chairs and equipment are provided to our employees to prevent discomfort and soft tissue injuries and musculoskeletal disorders caused by repetitive motion and awkward posture.

We are pleased to report no work-related accidents for the financial year.

The outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) since the beginning of the year has brought the aspect Safety and Health at work to the limelight. The Bank mandated a maximum number of its employees to work remotely during the lockdown period. Front Liners such as those based in our branches were provided with disposable masks and gloves when they had to come to work. During this crisis period, safety training on COVID-19 was dispensed to all employees through Microsoft teams.

Currently, with all the restrictions related to COVID-19 lifted in Mauritius, we are still promoting remote working, the provision of disposable masks to all our employees, taking of temperature for those coming to the branch and maintenance of social distancing at our premises.