DAR ES SALAAM: When someone encounters news about an organization in Tanzania aiming to plant 1 million trees by 2030, they might naturally assume that the institution’s core focus is on environmental issues.
However, if you understand that businesses need to foster inclusive development and mitigate risks that might affect sustainability, including climate change, it becomes clear that even a financial institution can embark on tree-planting programs. Indeed, this is what Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) is doing.
DTB Chief Executive Officer, Ravneet Chowdhury, says that although the Bank is a commercial organization, it has other roles to play in society, including promoting financial literacy, which is a key responsibility of banks.
“We do a lot to enable financial literacy. The Bank of Tanzania [BOT] requires us to do that as well. So, from training our own people to making it easier for customers to understand the terms and conditions, to trying to make banking simpler and easier, and explaining to people how things work, we clearly do a lot on financial literacy,” adds Mr. Chowdhury.
This year alone, DTB Tanzania managed to issue loans amounting to over 1 billion Tanzanian shillings, a milestone achievement for the financial institution, which also operates in East African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi.
DTB’s financial highlights show that by the third quarter of 2024, the Bank recorded 58.2 billion shillings before tax, an increase of 332 percent compared to the corresponding period. Its assets increased to 1.86 trillion shillings, up by 5.5 percent, while customer deposits stood at 1.52 trillion shillings. This financial trend proves beyond reasonable doubt that DTB is stable.
The Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Ravneet Chowdhury, says DTB’s sustainability pillars are based on 10 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including No Poverty, Good Health and Well-being, Gender Equality, and Clean Water and Sanitation.
Other goals include Decent Work and Economic Growth, Responsible Consumption and Production, Life on Land, Partnerships for the Goals, and Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.
“We’ve tried to restore eyesight and provide treatment. So, we do a lot of camps with the Rotary Club, and we’re very pleased with that because a lot of people come and benefit from it. So, there’s a very broad sustainability agenda, which includes various facets. What we have done is taken out 8 to 10 key pillars for sustainability,” says DTB’s CEO.
In attaining SDGs, the CEO emphasizes that DTB cannot do everything, so the Bank has decided to focus on 8 to 10 key pillars, insisting, “We are working little by little, but we build every time.”
Conducive Business Environment
With Tanzania maintaining a promising Gross Domestic Product (GDP) trend of 5.3 percent to 5.4 percent, with optimism to cross 6 percent by 2025, DTB’s Chief Executive Officer says the situation is promising in the financial sector since banking is currently performing very well.
“So, given that, we see even banking is doing very well. And we are also following the trend. In that, we see a lot of growth in our own bank. The balance sheet is growing, deposits are growing, and the loan book is growing. We are seeing a lot of demand for credit because there is a lot of investment happening locally in Tanzania and also from people coming from overseas. Tanzania is seen as a very good investment destination. So, in line with that, we are seeing good opportunities in banking services, and we are making use of that opportunity,” says the DTB boss.
DTB’s Focus
DTB’s Head of Communication Department, Sylvester Bahati, says the Bank’s sustainability pillars are centered on Climate Action and a Net Zero Strategy (Scope 1 and 2). Under this, he says, there are coordinated management, governance, and processes to identify, monitor, and control climate-related physical and transition risks. The Bank is determined to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2030, in line with principles stipulated by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a network of private, non-denominational development agencies founded by the Aga Khan, focused on improving the quality of life in different regions of Asia and Africa.
To achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, DTB started measuring, tracking, and reporting Scope 1 and 2 emissions by the end of 2023. As part of this initiative, DTB plans to plant 1 million trees by 2030, starting with 10,000 in 2024 and 90,000 through partnerships.
In the energy sector, DTB conducted energy audits of its properties in 2023, installing solar energy as an alternative source for eight offsite ATMs and solar generation equipment at the DTB Centre by the end of 2024.
“Annually, we produce educational content on behavioral change toward sustainable consumption, such as saving on paper, electricity, and water usage by managing air conditioning, lights, and printing papers,” he says.
Furthermore, the Bank has adopted waste management practices through recycling. For instance, DTB refurbished used computers, distributing them to police stations, primary schools, and secondary schools across the country. Besides benefiting the environment, this initiative supports the government’s digital transformation drive.
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“How do we handle electronic waste—such as cables that become obsolete? According to Bank standards, they should be discarded, but we saw an opportunity to recycle them. We refurbished 150 pieces of equipment, wiped them clean, and installed new operating systems, which were then distributed to primary and secondary schools and police stations. Imagine walking into a police station and seeing a computer in use—it changes your perspective about the institution,” says Bahati.
Sustainable financing is another sustainability pillar for DTB. Under this, the Bank is committed to mobilizing and scaling deployment to drive social and environmental change, including inclusive development and transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
DTB is also committed to a responsible supply chain strategy, designed to take into account the social and environmental impacts of its procurement processes. By enhancing risk management and resilience within its value chain, DTB ensures sustainable operations.
As DTB strives to become one of the top five financial institutions in Tanzania, the Head of Communication Department emphasizes the Bank’s priority on employee welfare and development. It is embedding a culture that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion while ensuring the mental, physical, economic, and professional well-being of its employees.
