At Sanlam Namibia we recognise that Namibia's developmental backlog is immense, and it will take the combined efforts of government, business and civil society to implement considered, focused and sustainable initiatives to improve the well-being of all sectors of society. Sanlam Namibia's social involvement strategy in support of Namibia's sustainable socio-economic development is founded on the principle that social upliftment is not a luxury, but a business imperative in Namibia.

Sanlam Namibia has been an outstanding example of how a life assurance company can play a significant part in building a nation. Since its establishment in Namibia in 1928, Sanlam has blazed a trail as a catalyst and a solid partner for development. Sanlam Namibia has been and is still in the forefront of growth and development of Namibia, be it in its core business of financial service provision or in the socio-economic spheres. As a responsible and exemplary corporate citizen, Sanlam Namibia is contributing to the country's future and the prosperity of its people in many ways. In conjunction with our sister company, Sanlam Investment Management (SIM), Sanlam Namibia established a dynamic and progressive Corporate Social Responsibility Programme for projects and initiatives that will positively influence the lives and aspirations of all Namibians.

Our approach

Sanlam Namibia has switching its social involvement strategy to better serve the socio-economic needs of the Namibian people, from a predominantly reactive and passive strategy to a more involved, proactive and active one . The new social involvement strategy encompasses pure Corporate Social Investment (CSI), Sponsorship and Donations as well as Advice, Consultation and Facilitation. This new approach is proactive to ensure that the initiatives align with our CSI philosophy. At the same time, the projects undertaken align with the country's broader development framework and objectives where appropriate.

The underlying principles for Sanlam Namibia's CSI programme are:

• Bias towards education and training
• Fewer, but relatively larger, projects that impact on communities
• Focus on projects that are sustainable and have a multiplying effect
• Direct involvement in all projects, even when third parties assist with implementation
• Involving employees at relevant and appropriate levels

Focus areas

Sanlam Namibia is involved in a variety of projects, however its social responsibility programme focuses in the following areas:

• Education and training
  Education is the backbone of development for any country and our industry, in particular, depends on skilled employees. In this field, we focus on encouraging the culture of learning;  promoting and developing areas of learning relevant to the financial sector of the economy and providing financial assistance as well as learning equipment. Our initiatives are targeted at individuals (students, educators) as well as educational institutions. Our main focus is on secondary school and tertiary levels. Through our bursary scheme, we have provided tertiary students with bursaries. Sanlam Namibia has further contributed to the establishment and maintenance of the first in the country and much needed Accounting Laboratory at the Polytechnic of Namibia.
  
  
• Entrepreneurial development and Empowerment
  With rising unemployment rates and lack of industries, our challenge in Namibia is to develop and create a culture of entrepreneurship amongst our youth who are the leaders of tomorrow. This is why we introduced the Sanlam Namibia Future Business Leaders Programme whose aim is to expose the learners to entrepreneurship at an early age. The programme has seen sixteen schools and more than 252 learners participating since 2002. Other projects such as the Sanlam Namibia Schools Debating tournament aiming at empowering learners with presentation and communication skills were undertaken and will remain annual projects. We at Sanlam Namibia view debates and debating as crucial to any nation. In the world today, increasing emphasis is placed on the spoken word, thus making presentation skills an important asset in any walk of life. Sanlam Namibia also recognises the significance of debate in developing research skills, oral communication skills, listening skills, reasoning and logic and most important the culture of speaking persuasively and confidently. Debate also broadens the general knowledge of learners.
  
  
• HIV/Aids and Health and Welfare programme
  The scourge of the Aids pandemic and its social and economic impact on the country have made it an important focus area for Sanlam Namibia's Health programme.  To this end Sanlam Namibia through an organisation of people living with Aids and HIV, Lironga Eparu (meaning lets learn to survive) have contributed and financed the establishment of an HIV/Aids office to deal with the facilitation of programs, run projects, consultation, provide advice and counseling to the infected and affected people in the Caprivi region. Together with the Cancer Association of Namibia, we are committed to conducting Breast examination and Papsmear clinics every year throughout the country. In conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Sanlam Namibia will continue being involved with TB programmes. We are also committed to funding different charity programmes as well as projects aiming at people living with disabilities.
  
  
• Sport development
  One of the key focus areas of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program is the area of sport development. Sanlam Namibia has so far supported numerous sports development programs and projects, and is still committed to allocating available resources to sports initiatives that will positively influence the lives and aspirations of all Namibians, especially the previously disadvantaged. Sanlam Namibia is commitment to the development and promotion of sport throughout Namibia. The main aim of our sport sponsorship is to unlock the inherent sport  potential  that exist as well as unearth the hidden talent and stars in our country. The highlight of our sports sponsorship is the Primary Schools Rugby, which is an annual project aimed at introducing and promoting rugby at primary school level throughout the country.
  
  
• Other focus areas
  Besides sport development, our future sponsorship and donation areas will include: agriculture and environment as well as art and culture development. Programs of safety and crime prevention have been undertaken during the past few years. Other numerous ad hoc requests have been attended to as well.