Alina Oprea • 18 May, 2023 at 9:00 AM
BCR published the 2022 Social Impact Report, providing an overview of how the company contributed to economic and social inclusion in Romanian communities. In 2022, the BCR Group granted approximately €2.5 million in funding for the development of associations and social enterprises, supporting the creation of roughly 1,800 jobs and over 290,000 beneficiaries. In addition, 127 organizations benefited from advisory and acceleration programs, and 900 organizations could access community support for their causes through Bursa Binelui, the only commission-free donation platform in Romania. The data covers the bank's main projects and activities, from supporting NGOs and social businesses to financial, digital, and entrepreneurial education initiatives, and highlights the importance of volunteering and active community involvement.
In 2022, over 67,000 children and adults learned to build a better relationship with money through financial education workshops organized by BCR volunteers and partner associations, as well as through free courses and resources accessible on the scoaladebani.ro platform.
The LifeLab pilot program was also launched, which aims to integrate financial education into the teaching of other subjects. 2 schools from Romania participate in the program, with over 65 teachers and 1,200 students.
32 startups were accelerated in 2022 through InnovX-BCR, and local technology businesses accessed €19.7 million in funding. The InnovX-BCR accelerator aims to offer the Romanian startup community access to the latest technologies, top education, as well as global exposure, through partnerships with 47 top local players at the international level.
More than 21,000 entrepreneurs have benefited from access to entrepreneurial education and information on how to start or develop a business through the free Business School platform. In partnership with the Adservio platform, BCR supported 21,000 students and 30,000 parents from 144 schools in the country to connect with digital education tools, and together with Brio, providing access to digital education and assessment tools for 1,000 teachers and 3,000 students.
More than 60,000 children have developed and tested their skills for the future in NextLab Tech, the most important robotics competition in Southeast Europe.
"Our desire is to develop an ecosystem of learning and collaboration, with the help of which we can generate change for the better, together with partners from different areas of expertise. Because the history of our projects has shown us that if we want to build impact projects in the community, it is very important for each of us to be connected with the reality of the community. We have the necessary tools, we desire to leave a better mark on society and we will continue accelerating financial, entrepreneurial, digital, and environmental education initiatives", claimed Nicoleta Deliu-Pașol, Director of Communication and CSR, BCR.
BCR volunteers directly supported over 1,200 beneficiaries of the Teach for Romania and Carusel organizations in 2022.
More than 160 NGOs were supported to develop impact programs in local communities.
The BCR Group supported organizations providing assistance to Ukrainian refugees with over €235,000, and the BCR Caravan provided essential support directly at the borders.
InnovX-BCR and Jobful launched the jobs4ukr.com platform to support the social integration of Ukrainian refugees through access to jobs. In 2022, more than 8,000 Ukrainians and 2,000 employers registered on the platform.
"For us, social banking and social finance means finding solutions to build a better society. We do this through customized products and services, adapted to the context of our clients, pursuing three strategic directions: support for civil society, entrepreneurship, and education. At BCR Social Finance we want to build for the long term, not just to serve immediate needs, and we believe that education is at the heart of all initiatives that have a real impact", said Ștefan Buciuc, CEO of BCR Social Finance.