As a commercial for-profit organization that also has a development mission, we aim to provide products and services to our customers in a manner that contributes to social and economic development while expanding financial inclusion.
We remain committed to human rights and social justice. We believe that every person has the right to basic living standards, including the provision of healthcare and education, and access to gainful employment. These principles lie at the core of our approach to CSR.
In a region historically wracked by conflict and prone to devastating natural disasters, we also have a responsibility to provide humanitarian relief to the most vulnerable communities, contribute to the reconstruction of key infrastructure, and help prepare the region for climate change via our eco-investments.
Finally, with the intention of supporting the growth of a more harmonized, resilient society, Dahabshiil Group supports small-scale social and cultural initiatives via the sponsorship of various events and the construction of facilities to host them.
At Dahabshiil Group, we are lucky to maintain a long list of partners, from the small enterprises we supported from the outset with microloans, to major international organizations. Our partnerships with the international community have ensured that aid and development support provided by the donor community reaches the intended target communities.
With the support of our customers and partners, Dahabshiil Group hopes to help build a better, brighter future for the people of East Africa and the Horn.
Financial inclusion lies at the very heart of Dahabshiil Group. Over the past half century, we have offered innovative, efficient, and cost-effective ways for people to send money to those most in need, wherever they are, via Dahabshiil Money Transfers. With the establishment of Dahabshil Bank International and East Africa Bank, we have been able to offer further critical financial services to one of the world’s most underbanked populations. And through Dahabshiil’s microfinance institution, MicroDahab, we have been able to expand our reach even further, offering microloans to some of the poorest communities in the region to support the formation of small businesses, with a significant majority of our loans extended to women-led initiatives.
Access to affordable healthcare is a major challenge throughout East Africa and the Horn. Dahabshiil Group is proud to support hospitals and healthcare centres throughout the region offering lifesaving care to vulnerable communities. Historically, we have funded the construction of new primary health centres in remote locations, contributed to the expansion of existing hospitals and healthcare facilities, and supported programs providing much needed training to healthcare professionals. While there is still much work to be done, Dahabshiil Group remains committed to continue improving the health of the region.
As an investment in the future, education is vital to a thriving society and key to overcoming poverty. Throughout much of East Africa and the Horn, education facilities are largely inadequate and all too often beyond the reach of vulnerable communities. Young girls still often face disproportionate barriers to attaining even primary education. Dahabshiil Group is a proud supporter of several schools and universities in East Africa and the Horn, and periodically funds scholarship programmes to fund gifted children through their education.
Dahabshiil Group is now among the largest private sector employers in East Africa and the Horn. Nonetheless, it is committed to strengthening employment opportunities for all young adults throughout the region, including via support to vocational training centres and, indeed, via the loans it offers to small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) and microloans to entrepreneurs and start-up businesses.
Operating in one of the most conflict-affected and fragile regions of the world, Dahabshiil maintains a deep commitment to supporting communities affected by disasters, both natural and man-made. While ideally, we would commit more of our support to the sectors identified above, we have no choice but to respond when crises occur both within and beyond the region. When providing humanitarian relief, we always try to target the most vulnerable communities impacted by disasters.
Dahabshiil Group has been instrumental in the rebuilding of critical infrastructure either destroyed by conflict and natural disasters or left to deteriorate through years of neglect. For East Africa and the horn to reach its economic potential and address endemic poverty, the region needs the basic foundations for trade and investment. Dahabshiil Group has contributed to multiple major infrastructure projects including the rehabilitation of major highways and bridges, and the construction of new dams designed to strengthen resilience against climate change. But we also try to support smaller infrastructure projects that may not make significant contributions to the wider economy but transform the lives of the local communities that benefit from them.
Despite its marginal contribution to the drivers of global climate change, East Africa and the Horn have already proven disproportionately impacted by rising temperatures and increasingly severe and frequent climatic events. With the aim of preventing the climate crises from undermining all other efforts to strengthen development, resilience, and sustainability, Dahabshiil Group is increasingly committed to funding eco-friendly initiatives. These range from the construction of solar power plants to the provision of training in environmentally friendly farming techniques for the recipients of microloans.
Dahabshiil Group sponsors a number of major sporting and cultural events in East Africa and the Horn. We see sports as an avenue for strengthening social inclusion and building leadership among the region’s youth, while also contributing to the population’s health and well-being. Similarly, cultural events that both celebrate and preserve the region’s rich history and traditions contribute to a population’s pride and can strengthen efforts to prevent cycles of conflict and violence.
Dahabshiil Group financial services are among just a few favoured payment facilitators for most international development and humanitarian organizations. These include multiple United Nations agencies such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), and World Health Organization (WHO). We have a long history of working with various bilateral aid and development organizations, including the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and UK Aid Direct, as well as numerous international non-governmental agencies (INGOs) such as Oxfam and Save the Children.
As long as there is a need for the international community to provide support to East Africa and the Horn of Africa, Dahabshiil Group will endeavour to remain among their most trusted and valued partners.