25 March

Leading Light: Investec

Why is City Giving Day good for business and why have you been involved? 

“At Investec, we’re proud to celebrate City Giving Day. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate our partnerships with local charities, raise awareness, and sign up even more colleagues to get involved by volunteering.

Last year, the day was even more special than usual. We used it to celebrate ten years of partnership with our community partners the Bromley by Bow Centre and Arrival Education, and three years of partnership with Trees for Cities. Each of them represent our focus areas of community engagement, that is, entrepreneurship, education and the environment.

On the day we had social entrepreneurs, students and tree specialists all around our offices running workshops, classes and engaging information stands. We also took the day to launch the latest cohort of our social entrepreneurship programme, Beyond Business. After pitching to a panel of Investec and third-sector leaders on the day, six social enterprises were chosen and informed that same evening. They’ve each received up to £17k in start-up funding, as well as in-depth, specialist advice from our experts at Investec.”

Dave van der Walt, CEO, Investec Bank plc

Why did you get involved and what was great about City Giving Day? 

“Being in the Beyond Business judging panel on City Giving Day is both challenging and overwhelmingly inspiring. I feel so proud to take part. I’ve done this for many years now, and every time I’m amazed at the quality of applications, the skill and drive of the entrepreneurs that pitch to us, and also at my colleagues who put so much thought and effort making sure we can all make a huge difference on City Giving Day.”

Linda Brown, Head of Savings, Investec Private Bank

Why do you think City Giving Day is important and what difference does it make to your charity/beneficiaries? 

“I will never forget when I came to City Giving Day at Investec in 2016 and won a place on the Beyond Business programme. That’s when I knew I’d have the support I needed to start my business.”

Samantha Francis, Founder of Find A Balance