Ecobank (www.Ecobank.com) is once again displaying its care for the community credentials, as today, a series of volunteering and fundraising activities simultaneously take place across the 33 African markets where it has a presence.

The charitable endeavours mark the 5th Ecobank Day, an internal initiative where the bank’s employees are encouraged to turn their attention from servicing customer needs, and towards their local communities. Each year Ecobank commits a significant amount of money towards this critical activity.

The 2017 focus is on ‘Safe Water, Healthy Living’, and has been chosen to raise awareness of the sheer number of people within the African continent who lack access to safe, clean water, and how this impacts their quality of life and opportunities.

Ecobank’s Group CEO, Ade Ayeyemi, said the passion and commitment Ecobank employees continue to show to the Ecobank Day initiative demonstrates the bank’s culture of giving back. “Ecobank is a pan-African bank of the people for the people, so it is important that we continue to work to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable, disadvantaged people in the markets we serve,” he said.

“Since the first Ecobank Day back in 2013, Ecobank employees have supported a variety of causes ranging from malaria prevention to helping to improve education standards in some of the most deprived areas of Africa. However, it is shocking that in 2017 so many people still do not have access to water, something which should be a basic human right. This not only has a negative impact on health, education and economic opportunities, but perpetuates a seemingly inescapable cycle of poverty.”

Through a series of activities – from volunteering in areas of need, construction projects and the provision of specialist equipment such as water tanks, the Bank hopes the work carried out via the Ecobank Day initiative will start the motion of change.