Established in 2011, the Sanlam Foundation is our primary corporate responsibility vehicle and provides a coordinated approach to community investment across the Group.
The Sanlam Foundation’s strategy is aligned with our core business strategy, providing focused contributions where we can make a real difference. In addition, the Sanlam Foundation holds itself accountable to the highest standards of governance and accountability. Find out more about how we oversee our contribution to society.
The Sanlam Foundation has three focus areas:
Enterprise and supplier development and social entrepreneurship
Consumer financial education
Socio-economic development
We believe business can only flourish in societies where human rights are protected and respected. We adhere to the International Bill of Human Rights and are committed to respecting all internationally-recognised human rights, as are relevant to our operations. Read more in our human rights declaration.
We are committed to transforming and empowering our supply chain to contribute toward a more equitable and sustainable society.
Small and medium enterprises play a major role in most economies, particularly in developing countries, and we recognise that transforming our supply chain will enable us to contribute toward a more equitable and sustainable society. As such, increasing the number of sustainable black-owned and black women-owned enterprises in South Africa remains a top priority.
Our enterprise and supplier development portfolio focuses on:
Rolled out in partnership with the Association for Savings and Investment in South Africa, our enterprise and supplier development programme is our flagship development initiative and is supported by two distinct projects:
Accelerator provides selected, black-owned small, medium and micro-sized enterprises within our supply chain with support, acceleration, access to markets, mentorship and access to investment funding.
Project Elevate incorporates business thinking into black-owned BlueStar businesses to improve their long-term sustainability and profitability and create jobs. This is achieved by providing expert coaching and mentoring monthly.
Since its inception, our enterprise and supplier development programme has been able to support 41 businesses and 161 Practices and Blue Stars and create 260 new jobs. The programme has also seen R25 million investment in businesses, as well as R34 million in procurement spend.
We are committed to educating citizens and empowering them to make informed financial decisions through financial literacy and education projects that ensure a better future for all: financial literacy is key to improving individual financial behaviour, preventing over-indebtedness, protecting clients, contributing to market development and ensuring financial resilience and prosperity.
In South Africa, the Sanlam Foundation’s chosen consumer financial education programmes respond to these needs. Programmes are conducted nationwide, in rural and urban areas, with special attention paid to poorer citizens:
This financial literacy programme targets members of the National Union of Mineworkers who work in mining, energy and construction.
We conducted research among final year students that indicated financial literacy training was lacking, and that many students were ill-prepared to cope with financial responsibilities as they enter employment. We address this need through our Professionals and Graduate Programme.
More than 16 000 economically vulnerable employees in South Africa have gained financial literacy skills over the past three-and-a-half years. This was because their employers deployed the Saver Waya WageWise programme offered by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa Foundation.
Considering the critical role that skills development and education play in human development, the Sanlam Foundation identified the Sanlam Blue Ladder Schools Programme as our flagship socio-economic development initiative. Through this initiative, we are partnering with schools across the country to improve maths competency and provide crucial health and wellness skills for learners. Find out more about our Blue Ladder Schools Programme.