Cheers to African Bank and 10,000 volunteering connections!

Cheers to African Bank and 10,000 volunteering connections!

African Bank’s commitment to uplifting communities through employee volunteering is fast becoming a benchmark in South Africa’s CSI landscape.

With an ambitious target of 20,000 volunteer hours by the end of September 2025, the bank has already clocked over 4,088 hours and facilitated 10,186 volunteer connections through its Employee Volunteering Platform (EVP), African Bank for Good.

Mobilising a workforce of over 4,000 employees to sign up to volunteering platform is no small feat. Since launching the EVP in 2019, the platform has grown steadily year-on-year. Today, 3,440 employees are registered, an impressive 84% of the entire workforce, with an average of 1,445 volunteer connections made annually.

This progress is no accident. It reflects a clear, inclusive strategy embedded within African Bank’s CSI approach. By engaging staff across all levels from executives to frontline teams, through a variety of volunteering events and financial education workshops, the bank has built a culture of giving that resonates throughout the company, making sure that everyone feels part if the collective mission. These initiatives do more than serve communities; they improve employee morale, build teamwork and create shared purpose.

How were these 10,000 connections achieved?

Here are some of the key markers of African Bank’s success:

• A clear annual plan: Beyond well-known events like Mandela Day, the team maps out a calendar of volunteering activities across offices and regions. Ensuring they have a variety of activities on the calendar that touch all areas of interest. Collaborating with departments like Sustainability, for example has helped drive participation and meet shared goals.
• Leadership support: Reaching 20,000 volunteering hours isn’t just a CSI goal – it’s a business-wide priority. Executive buy-in ensures volunteering is seen as a core part of the company’s values, not a side project. Volunteering forms part of African Bank employees KPIs which also helps make volunteer a more personal experience.
• Diverse opportunities for every employee: From time and skills-based volunteering to donating goods or money, employees can engage with Causes that matter to them in person and virtually in areas such as education, youth development or community upliftment.
• Making volunteering easy and accessible: Employees are more likely to get involved when opportunities meet them where they are. Understanding different job roles and time constraints from desk-bound staff to field teams helps tailor volunteering formats accordingly. Microvolunteering opportunities offer quick and easy ways to help and can be completed in as little as 10 minutes. Creating competition amongst teams through these quick opportunities ensures volunteering remains both fun and impactful.
• Merging wellness and volunteering: Initiatives like self-defence workshops or financial education sessions have a triple benefit – they empower employees, support Cause partners and enable the sharing of knowledge into wider communities.
• Dedicated volunteering days: Giving employees a day to volunteer on their own terms encourages autonomy and wider reach. Employees can either use 1 full day at a times or contribute shorter periods to various activities.
• Sharing wins internally: Regularly showcasing volunteering success stories reinforces purpose, inspires new participants and celebrates collective impact. Sharing these stories internally and in local media also showcases the businesses efforts to the greater public and corporate community.
• Encouraging employee-led events: Empowering teams to create and run their own initiatives nurtures ownership, reduces budget pressure and brings fresh ideas into the programme.

African Bank’s journey proves that when volunteering is embedded into company culture, it delivers results far beyond tick-box compliance. It builds a stronger workforce, supports long-term development, and inspires a ripple effect of change.

Their story is a powerful reminder to other corporates: with the right structure, support and heart, employee volunteering can be both fulfilling and transformative.