Trustees
Nolulamo Nobambiswano Gwagwa
Zwoitwaho Calvin Nevhutalu
Oren Fuchs
Sizwe Errol Nxasana
Elizabeth Maepa
Amanda Tandi Nzimande
Mary Vilakazi
Bongiwe Njobe
firstrand namibia’s
trusts
The FirstRand Namibia Foundation Trust is the primary social investment vehicle, serving as the platform for long- and short-term investments locally, as well as spearheading urgent national initiatives relevant to disaster relief or support, e.g. the Health Optimisation in a Pandemic Emergency (HOPE) Fund, a special fund raised to address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Namibia. The group also invests in the health and care of its employees through a separate social investment vehicle, the FNB Namibia Staff Assistance Trust.
FirstRand Namibia’s social investing entities
- Originally established as the FNB Namibia Holdings Foundation. Its name was changed to FirstRand Namibia Foundation Trust in 2018.
FirstRand Namibia Foundation Trust
The FirstRand Namibia Foundation Trust (the foundation) was established in 1998 and is the legal vehicle through which FirstRand Namibia and its major operating businesses (FNB Namibia, RMB Namibia, WesBank Namibia and Ashburton Investments Namibia) direct their individual and collective corporate social investment. Since inception, the foundation has received 1% of FirstRand Namibia’s net profit after tax.
The foundation’s aim is to be the leading corporate social investor and knowledge collaborator in Namibia. The foundation is committed to contributing to the development of a better Namibia through skills and capacity development, education, financial literacy, community and health development, arts and culture, sports development, environmental guardianship and primary health care. It is the intention to constantly align the foundation’s work with the group’s business strategy to create a better world.
FNB Namibia Staff Assistance Trust
As part of FirstRand Namibia’s commitment to transformation, the business continues to assist previously disadvantaged non-managerial employees through the FNB Staff Assistance Trust (the trust). The trust’s objective is to assist previously disadvantaged non-managerial staff to pay medical bills and cover educational costs. The trust owns shares in FirstRand Namibia Limited and utilises dividends received to fund assistance provided to employees.
Educational assistance
75%
Medical care support
25%
HOPE Fund
The HOPE Fund initially focused on the purchasing of long-term medical equipment set to uplift local state hospitals even beyond the Covid-19 pandemic. It has evolved further to act as a platform for stakeholder engagement and diverse value contribution, bringing together local business and industries and government to solve for real community and societal pressures, e.g. helping to execute on the Ministry of Health and Social Services’ Covid-19 vaccination roll-out plan countrywide.