As part of the wider social and developmental philosophy associated with BCCI and its Founder and President, Mr Agha Hasan Abedi, foundations were established in a number of countries in which the Bank operated.
The concept reflected the view that a financial institution should not measure its contribution solely in terms of commercial growth and profitability, but should also recognise a wider responsibility towards the communities and countries in which it conducted business.
The foundations were intended to provide a more permanent and organised structure through which resources could be directed towards areas of social and economic development. Depending upon local circumstances, their broad areas of interest included education, health, science and technology, social welfare, assistance to disadvantaged communities and development-oriented initiatives.
This approach formed part of Abedi's broader philosophy that banking and economic activity should contribute to human development. Available BCCI material records that foundations established under his direction were supported from a portion of the Bank's profits and were intended to finance health, education and other developmental programmes.
The foundations should therefore be viewed alongside BCCI's other philanthropic and development initiatives, including the Third World Foundation, support for Global 2000, educational programmes, scientific and technological development, and other projects intended particularly to benefit developing countries.
Available information
The historical records presently available to this website are incomplete. Detailed information concerning the individual BCCI Foundations established in different countries has not been located in sufficient form to provide a comprehensive country-by-country account.
Material has, however, been located concerning foundations and related initiatives in Bangladesh and Pakistan. These are, covered separately in the relevant sections of this website rather than repeated here.
A wider concept
Although the surviving documentation is incomplete, the available evidence indicates that the BCCI Foundations were conceived as more than conventional charitable funds. They formed part of a wider attempt to connect banking, philanthropy and economic development, with particular emphasis on improving opportunities in developing countries.
Their establishment reflected a recurring theme in Abedi's approach: that the resources generated through banking could also be used to support education, health, technological advancement, social welfare and broader economic development.
As further original documents and reliable information concerning foundations in other countries become available, this section will be expanded.