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Abu Dhabi: Emirates Islamic, a leading Islamic financial services institution and Emirates Foundation, an independent philanthropic organization set up by the Abu Dhabi Government to facilitate public-private partnerships for empowering youth across the UAE joined forces to identify, attract, and develop the right mix of critical talent to support the growing need for qualified youth in the private sector, particularly the banking industry.
The partnership, which offers both financial and knowledge-sharing technical support, is in line with the Foundation’s business philanthropy model, which seeks to develop long-term programs, designed to make a positive and sustainable impact in the lives of UAE youth. A major emphasis of the partnership is boosting Emirates Foundation’s efforts to make philanthropy a deeply rooted culture and encourage stronger involvement of the UAE youth in the socioeconomic development process.
Awatif Al Harmoody, General Manager, Operational Control & Processes at Emirates Islamic said: “We are pleased to partner with Emirates Foundation in support of the Foundation’s vision to empower the UAE youth and help them achieve their potential and contribute to their nation. We will encourage our staff to engage in all the noble initiatives of Emirates Foundation and will motivate them to volunteer, participate and give back to society. At the same time, we are always available to share our expertise with the UAE youth.”
Clare Woodcraft-Scott, CEO of Emirates Foundation said: “At Emirates Foundation, we have a long-term view when it comes to having a skilled and knowledgeable talent pool. Today, there is a skills gap within the private sector, especially the Islamic financial sector and a shortage of skilled professionals who will become the next-generation of banking leaders and administrators.”
Woodcraft further elaborated by saying: “There is a pressing need to complement the formal education system and offer new and compelling training opportunities within the banking industry to prepare and empower the future generations with the right skills to access jobs within the financial sector. Through our partnership with Emirates Islamic, we aspire to engage their expertise in all our programs and introduce our youth to the banking industry and provide them with essential relevant skills. And of course, we would want to make the unique banking know-how of Emirates Islamic’s teams available to a wider base of our youth population – which is at the heart of our mission.”
The partnership carries a host of benefits for Emirates Islamic, including the opportunity to engage its employees in a variety of volunteering, training, and skill-building programs, such as "Esref Sah”, “Takatof”, “Kafaat”, and “Think science” as well as becoming peer mentors and coaches for the Foundation’s staff and youth especially in areas of financial literacy as well as participating in the Kafa’at Leadership Camps focusing on building leadership skills. Emirates Foundation will also be able to give its broad base of youth opportunities and access to hands-on experience from Emirates Islamic.
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About Emirates Foundation
Emirates Foundation was launched in April 2005 as an initiative of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. It is chaired by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In 2012, the Emirates Foundation was re-launched under the name “Emirates Foundation for Youth Development” as an integrated national initiative that seeks to invest in UAE youth. The new strategy uses the model venture philanthropy with a view to impacting the lives of young people in the UAE positively and permanently. To achieve this, the Foundation will work in three key focus areas: social inclusion; community engagement; and leadership and empowerment. It will seek to identify, educate and inform the public about challenges facing UAE youth while developing sustainable, enterprise-based solutions to social issues and motivating young Emiratis to volunteer, participate and give back to society.
Emirates Foundation works to enhance partnerships between private and public sectors, to develop sustainable ways of helping young people in the UAE make an active contribution to the country’s development. EF is funded through contributions from the Abu Dhabi government and private sector companies.
For more information on Emirates Foundation, please contact:
Samar Abdulhadi –samar@inspirat.us +971504546313
About Emirates Islamic:
Established in 2004, as Emirates Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic is one of the fastest growing banks in the UAE. Combining the best in Shari’a compliant services with the strongest levels of customer care and efficiency, the bank has established itself as a major player in the highly competitive financial services sector in the UAE. Offering products and services developed in line with the highest ethical standards, Emirates Islamic gives customers the transparency they seek in a strong, honest financial partner.
Emirates Islamic offers a comprehensive range of products and services across the Personal, Business and Corporate banking spectrum with a network of 61 branches and 199 ATMs/CDMs across the UAE. In the fast growing area of online and mobile banking, the bank has the reputation as an innovator, and was the first Islamic bank to launch a mobile banking app and the first bank in the Middle East to launch an App on the Windows 8 mobile platform.
Emirates Islamic has consistently received local and international awards, an acknowledgement of the bank’s strong record of performance, growth and market leading banking practices. The bank was named ‘Best Islamic Bank in the UAE’ at the 2015 World Finance Awards and also won the prestigious Euromoney Award for Innovation in Islamic Finance 2015. In the Islamic Business & Finance Awards 2015, the bank was named ‘Best Retail Bank, UAE’; ‘Best Commercial Bank, UAE’; and ‘Best Wealth Management, ME’ . The bank also won ‘Best Savings Account’ for its popular Kunooz Savings Account and ‘Best New SME Product’ for its Business Banking Packages at the Banker Middle East Product Awards 2015.
For further information please visit www.emiratesislamic.ae
Or please contact:
Amina Al Zarooni
Media Relations Manager, Emirates Islamic
Tel: 971 4 4397430; Mob: 971 56 6405080
Email: AminaAlZarooni@emiratesislamic.ae
Tricia Kaul | Hiba Moussa
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-4507600, Fax: 971-4-4358040
Email: tricia.kaul@bm.com | hiba.moussa@bm.com
© Press Release 2016
