Investec- Responsible Business Champion: Place

Investec – helping local people to help themselves

The Connected Places Award

Investec is committed to helping local people help themselves. By supporting Beyond Business and the Bromley-by-Bow Centre, it aims to encourage entrepreneurship in the local area that benefits individuals, communities and society.

We are privileged to support Beyond Business and the Bromley by Bow Centre because of our commitment to assisting local people to help themselves. We believe that encouraging entrepreneurship benefits individuals, communities and society – and, in order to do so, we are honoured to be able to share our experiences and resources.

Ruth Leas, CEO of Investec Bank

Societal/economic/environmental impacts

  • Investec has launched 47 new social enterprises and has helped to generate a turnover in excess of £4.5 million with more than 250 jobs created since 2011.
  • The programme has a track record of supporting enterprises to become sustainable, with over 81% of supported enterprises continuing to trade beyond their third year, compared to the national average of less than 50%.
  • Over 100 individuals are supported through a specialist coffee training and employment programme a year, accredited by the Specialty Coffee Association. Approximately 84% of trainees on the Well Grounded employment programme have moved into work as Baristas.

Business impacts

  • The company is able to give local people in the most deprived areas access to unique and empowering opportunities, advice, funding, and to create jobs and services for people who face multiple barriers to employment and social support.
  • With 68 employees across Investec volunteering over 322 hours last year on its IBB programme, 11 business areas engaged at different points in the programme, and the resultant impacts listed above, demonstrates they have achieved their aims.
  • The IBB programme engages volunteers from across Investec to use their professional skills in making an unselfish contribution to their local community. 100% of previous volunteers felt positively impacted and 89% of them developed work related skills.

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