Ndata, Thyolo, February 28, 2024 – Standard Bank Plc has presented its K20 million annual contribution to the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) Student Endowment Fund in fulfilment of the bank’s four-year commitment to the fund.
The bank has a four-year commitment totalling K80 million with annual contributions of K20 million since 2022. The MUST Endowment Fund was established in 2021 to assist needy students and enhance resource mobilization at the institution.
Speaking at Ndata in Thyolo during the handover ceremony of this year’s tranche Standard Bank’s Head of Business and Commercial Banking Graham Chipande said that the achievements of the fund resonate with the bank’s goal of improving access to higher education for youth of Malawi.
“We are really pleased to see the efforts that the fund is going to contribute towards equal access to education at the institution. Furthermore, as a bank we have the confidence in the way the board is managing the fund as testified by its growth,” said Chipande.
Chipande commended MUST on their transparency in managing the funds so far and urged the institution to continue managing the fund with diligence to ensure that it is successful in the long run.
“As a partner of growth, we have appreciated MUST’s diligence in managing the Fund and ensuring that funds are accounted for. We believe in the potential this has in creating a revolving fund that will support students in the long term,” added Chipande.
He said the endowment fund can be a catalyst for building national wealth through human capital development.
“Standard Bank believes that investment in the human capital contributes positively to the overall growth of our nation. Therefore, the fund we are disbursing today will help students to acquire the desired education at the same time improving education standards at MUST,” he said.
Chipande said that the funding aligns well with the bank’s purpose of driving collective national growth.
“As purpose driven Bank we believe that “Malawi is Our Home, We Drive Her Growth”. As such we understand the impact of our contribution towards initiatives that are propelling our Nation’s growth such as MUST’s Endowment Fund, and many others” he said.
Recounting the successes of the Endowment Fund, MUST Vice Chancellor Address Malata said the fund has overperformed.
“This is a great year for our institution more especially for this fund as we are going to assist over 100 students. The development emanates from the strides our endowment fund has registered which has seen a 59 percent growth,” said Malata.
She hailed Standard Bank for being an engaging partner in the process staying true to its annual contributions towards the fund.
“Let me thank Standard Bank for being a great part of this Fund. since they partnered with us, every year they come to fulfill their commitment. The third year of the initiative marks the time when the fund becomes operational supporting students after it has accumulated interest over the past 3 years,” she said.
Tuesday’s contribution is thr third and brings the total investment by Standard Bank to K60 million out of the pledged K80 million.
The MUST Endowment Fund has grown to K3.4 billion, said Malata.
