KARACHI: The members of Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) once again reaffirmed their commitment to uplift Pakistani society from all aspects and invested Rs 14.5 billion in different CSR and sustainable projects during 2020-21.
THe OICCI statement issued here on Thursday said about 100 of the leading foreign investors and members of OICCI continued to stand by the government to fight the pandemic of COVID-19 besides carrying out their several CSR initiatives which benefitted the marginalized communities across the country. The CSR activities of OICCI members did not include only monetary contributions but the intellect and time of their employees as well which develop sustainable and long-term projects across Pakistan with the underlying commitment to uplift the underprivileged strata of the society through different means.
President OICCI, Ghias Khan, commended the unparallel commitment of OICCI members who were inspiring the corporate sector alike to invest in the society besides introducing latest technology and skills transfer for the local population.
“The OICCI members keep on enhancing the CSR fabric through a proactive engagement between business and all stakeholders in the society, “he remarked. This resulted in model CSR initiatives and austainability practices, largely in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals to meet the growing needs of the society, Ghias mentioned.
Vice President OICCI, Amir Paracha, highlighted that the annual CSR Report 2020-21 reflected the feedback from about half of OICCI membership who had shared their CSR activities.
This year total CSR contribution was Rs 11 billion, which benefited about 34 million direct beneficiaries across the country. OICCI members and their colleagues spent around 1.4 million man-hours and partnered with 160 social and development sector organizations throughout Pakistan. The geographic distribution of the CSR activities has been 31 percent in Sindh, 27% in Punjab, 15% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 13% in Baluchistan, 8% in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 6% in Azad Kashmir.
The COVID-19 continued to be a challenge for businesses throughout the world. Our members showed exceptional leadership and resilience in the fight against COVID-19. During the year, 90% of our participant-members contributed about Rs 3.5 billion to various causes to fight the pandemic.
Protecting Environment was one of the areas which is getting growing attention recently. 69% of our participant-members carried out environment related pursuits and spent about Rs 1.5 billion for the purpose of protecting environment.
With respect to specific UN SDGs, 79% of the OICCI members focused on health and well-being, and actively supported health and nutrition related initiatives through donations to reputable hospitals, medical care camps and health awareness campaigns.
Moreover, 73% of members contributed to Quality Education by funding primary and secondary school facilities, scholarships, and various vocational training programs for skills development. Gender Equality is also one of the focus areas where more than half of our participant-members supported the women empowerment activities and actively supported the “OICCI Women” initiative in place since 2017.
OICCI is the collective body of top 200 foreign investors in Pakistan, belonging to 35 countries, who are also the largest contributor to the economy of Pakistan besides being the largest foreign investors.
