Stanbic celebrates BIUST graduates

Stanbic Bank Botswana serves as the Diamond Sponsor for the 2019 graduation of 257 graduate and postgraduate students of the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST). The graduation – on February 23 – celebrated the academic achievement of students from the Faculty of Engineering and Technology as well as the Faculty of Sciences.

On this Samuel Minta, Stanbic Bank Botswana Chief Executive said, “There is no greater stepping stone into the vocational world and that of formal employment than the possession of a suitable, recognised degree. We commend these 257 students for arriving at this milestone, for the tireless work they no doubt put in to get here, and for the enhanced ability with which they now enter the working and entrepreneurial world, ready to contribute meaningfully to the National economy.” Stanbic Bank Botswana is committed to making a sustainable contribution not only to access to higher education, but also to employability and job creation. Both these fall into the pillars of the Bank, as per its Corporate Social Investment strategy.

Through these strategic levers, in addition to the third pillar of health and wellness, the Bank looks to help drive greater prosperity and socio-economic progress across Botswana, and for Batswana. Palapye and surrounding regions are certainly a region of key significance for Stanbic Bank. “As BIUST, we work closely with the private sector to meet emerging skills needs of the industry, as well as identify challenges that can be solved through applied research. It is reaffirming to see a private sector player such as Stanbic Bank Botswana support this initiative,” said BIUST Vice Chancellor, Professor Otlogetswe Totolo.

BIUST is a national strategic initiative that is intended to serve as one of the key platforms for transforming Botswana’s economy from being resource-based to knowledge-based through skills capacity building in engineering, science and technology. Minta said: “Against a background of employment and youth entrepreneurial challenge, we applaud the graduates for arming themselves with this greater ability to move forward as we collectively seek greater platforms for job creation in the market.”