Established in 2019, Futuremakers is Standard Chartered's (the Group) response to the challenges encountered by economically-marginalised young people across our footprint. Through this global initiative, we champion sustained economic inclusion for young people from low-income communities.
Through Futuremakers, we work with non-government organisations (NGOs) and charity partners to run local community projects that help young people – with a greater focus on girls, young women and the visually impaired – to gain an equal opportunity to succeed in future economic opportunities in the labour market.
The journey to this inclusive future – as defined in our Futuremakers’ theory of change – comprises of three interlinked pathways: education, employability, and entrepreneurship.
By running projects that tackle different sources of inequality under these three pathways, we seek to empower the next generation to learn, earn and grow.
This document explains our strategy behind the Group's global community initiative - Futuremakers by Standard Chartered and provides an update on the progress of projects funded by the Group and the Standard Chartered Foundation.
Since we know economically-marginalised young people face different barriers to inclusion at different stages of their early lives, we look to tackle inequality from multiple angles across the three pathways. We set out to fundraise and donate USD75 million for Futuremakers between 2019 and 2023 to support projects that empower the next generation to learn, earn and grow.
Through our education pathway, we support projects that aim to provide young people with confidence, self-esteem, financial education, and awareness of their rights. With this, we believe they will be empowered to act as leaders and role models in their families and communities.
For young people lacking the skills or opportunities they need to gain employment, projects under the employability pathway focus on helping them grow their confidence, ultimately enter and remain in decent work.
For current and future entrepreneurs, projects under the entrepreneurship pathway provide everything from financial education to mentoring and funding, to nurture tomorrow’s business leaders.
