FAB celebrates the winners of the Future Business Leader’s Competition

Abu Dhabi, 11 November 2022: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s largest bank and one of the world’s largest and safest financial institutions has today unveiled the winners of its Future Business Leader’s Competition.

The competition was launched in the UAE and Egypt to engage students to submit their views on the role of business in the national and global sustainability agenda.

The 6 winners were announced at COP27 in Sharm El-Shiekh in Egypt. Threeof the winners are from the UAE and three are from Egypt. The winners from the UAE were Jahnavi Dhoshi, Fahad Mahmood and Judi Dairawan, who were all from the American University of Sharjah. The winners from Egypt were Hana El-Akhras, Sara Afifi and Youssef Abdelaaty, who were all from the American University in Cairo.

The competition serves as a key part of FAB’s ESG strategy whereby the bank recognises the important contribution that the youth will make in the future. While FAB acknowledges that many young people are aware of the importance sustainability, the bank seeks to improve young people’s comprehension of the financial components relating to sustainability.

Alongside this, FAB wants to drive awareness of sustainability as well encourage young people to produce innovative solutions that will build a more sustainable future.

Shargiil Bashir Chief Sustainability Officer at FAB said: “Sustainability is no longer an option but a requirement for the leaders of the future. It has become an essential part of their education and it’s fundamental that they understand its core components as this will help drive the future of the world. These students did an excellent job by highlighting the global landscape alongside challenges faced by organisations – and they presented simple but effective ideas to accelerate sustainability.”

Rose Armour, Head of the Sustainability Office at the American University of Sharjah, said: “With climate action being a core value of our institution, we strongly believe in the need for students across all lines of study to understand sustainability. Collaborations with institutions like FAB allow students to integrate their understanding of sustainability with that of real-life scenarios and ultimately equips them with the knowledge to turn this education into action.”

Maha Mourad, Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Administration, School of Business at the American University in Cairo, said: “Education lies at the core of transformation. Our students are the future leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators of tomorrow, and collaborating with the business community at an early age allows them to view important topics such as responsible business and sustainability from a pragmatic lens. This knowledge and experience provide a sturdy foundation for them to develop into our changemakers making a real impact on their ecosystem and the world at large.”

As part of the competition, students went through a two-pronged evaluation process with the submission of an essay and then shortlisted students underwent an interview.

FAB aligns the UAE’s vision to promote sustainable economic growth and with the UAE Net-Zero by 2050 initiative. In October 2021, FAB became the first UAE and GCC bank to join the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), reinforcing its status as a pacesetter for climate action in the financial sector. FAB is continuing to lead through proactive engagement and partnerships with customers, clients, and the UAE government and regulators, to enable them to move faster towards achieving their climate goals.