DBS gives back to the community |28 February 2023
A souvenir photograph to mark the event
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Donates R56,000 worth of projectors to SIT
As part of its ongoing 45th anniversary celebrations, commemorated on February 14, the Development Bank of Seychelles (DBS) has donated R56,000 worth of IT equipment to the Seychelles Institute of Technology (SIT).
The handover ceremony was held last week at the school at Providence in the presence of a group of DBS employees led by their chief executive Jean Preira and SIT director Hubert Barbe and his team.
It was Ms Preira who handed over the equipment to Mr. Barbe.
According to DBS’ CEO, it is customary for the bank to make donations towards a good cause as part of its corporate social responsibility and DBS has also been a long-standing partner in promoting and supporting sustainable development and learning.
“So when SIT approached us to request projectors to implement their digitalisation plan, we decided to back this noble cause because by giving to the school, we hope to be reaping good results in the long run as this is an institution training young people who will most likely turn out to be entrepreneurs or join fields where they will later turn to us for assistance,” said Ms Preira.
When accepting the donation, Mr Barbe thanked the DBS for choosing SIT and said it has come at an opportune time since it was part of the school’s strategic priority to ensure all lecture rooms were fully equipped with IT equipment.
The lecturers are presently sharing equipment and must transfer them to and from classes daily.
He added it would also help them as they move forward towards transforming the institution’s approach to training.
“We have one objective which is to ensure that by the end of this year, we can equip 8 specialist classes that we use for lecture with IT equipment; a fixed overhead projector and a laptop, because we are currently encouraging our instructors to use innovative approach in teaching and learning, which includes making use of IT equipment,” he said.
Mr Barbe added the objective features in SIT’s strategic plan dating back to 2019, which ends this year.
“We hope that by November we will be able to exhibit what we have been able to achieve despite the disruptions brought about by Covid-19 pandemic. But we know we are moving forward thanks to the kind assistance of organisations like DBS who is helping us to progress, so we are happy, and we appreciate the gesture,” he added.
He also urged the bank to remain a faithful partner.
Set up in 1977, DBS’ primary role is to provide Seychelles entrepreneurs in sectors such as tourism, fishing and agriculture among others, with long-term financing under different schemes with loans as low as R15,000 and up to of R300,000 million.
It is a non-budgetary dependent public enterprise and operates on a commercial basis and at the end of 2021 it has financed projects for an amount in excess of R3 billion.
The bank, which is headquartered on Mahé with offices in the other two main islands namely Praslin and La Digue, has over the years also supported the community through various corporate social responsibility activities mainly in the fields of education, sports, health and environment.
Patsy Canaya
Photos by Louis Toussaint
