Corporate Social Responsibility

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed an unprecedented health burden on BBK, the citizens and residents of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and people everywhere.

In a crisis, good leadership comes to the forefront and BBK demonstrated this throughout the pandemic emergency, following the directives of the great leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the swift and decisive actions taken by the government.

First priority for the Bank was protecting our employees, our customers, and everyone who has contact with our branches and offices. While implementing these measures, we quickly extended our efforts to take in the community as a whole. The Bank’s various initiatives – as detailed elsewhere in this annual report – helped to contain the spread of the virus.

BBK donated BD 3.0 million to the nationwide Feena Khair campaign, just one of the government’s COVID-19 measures designed to help people afflicted by the crisis. In addition to backing national initiatives, BBK supported local NGOs in assisting in-need families and migrant workers with the provision of food and basic essentials.

The Bank’s pandemic response was not merely a replacement for its many other wide-ranging commitments to health and wellbeing. Indeed, the COVID crisis made continued support for these beneficiaries even more vital.

BBK began the planning and design of its second health centre in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning. The new centre will serve a large segment of the population of the northern part of the Kingdom. The project reflects the Bank’s belief that every Bahraini is entitled to quality healthcare

Investing in education
A substantial part of the donation budget was allocated to educational initiatives in 2020, in addition to continuing programmes that bridge the gap between education and the workforce. Four educational initiatives formed a key element of BBK’s new CSR strategy, especially in the ever more vital context of distance learning. Hundred of Bahrainis benefited from those programmes.

TJ Walker training programme
TJ Walker is a world expert in not only empowering young people but in training presidents, government ministers, and senior officials around the world.

American Udemy Academy
This professional online educational platform provides abundant educational, creative, and training content.

Women’s digital literacy
BBK launched a women’s digital literacy course to provide Bahraini women with skills to deal with the digital age, and to support digital transformation in Bahraini society.

Financial literacy for journalists
In partnership with the Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA), a training programme was conducted to hone the financial knowledge and skills of Bahraini journalists. As well as the new education projects, BBK made further pledges toward the Crown Prince International Scholarships and the Isa Bin Salman Educational Trust.