GP played an active role as a gold-sponsor in the Regional Climate Summit 2023, held in Dhaka from 8th – 10th September. GP took the lead in several pivotal sessions and advocated for the Corporate PPA policy. A noteworthy accomplishment of the summit was the inclusion of a critical policy initiative in the official declaration: “The need to enable a policy for the Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA)”. This initiative aligns perfectly with our ambitious climate goal of achieving a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 and will facilitate private sector access to renewable energy from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) through the grid. Our proactive involvement in advocating for the CPPA policy underscores our dedication to sustainability and our support for Bangladesh's renewable energy objectives.

Grameenphone Academy has recently hosted another impactful Masterclass, this time with host Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP, the Hon’ble State Minister of ICT Division, as the Guest Speaker.

350+ academy students along with GP senior leaders in the audience panel listened to the vision of Smart Bangladesh 2041 and its connection to the future leaders of the nation. Minister conducted 40 minutes QnA session after his masterclass and took notes of the academy students’ comment and questions. The academy will collaborate with ICT ministry to share the concept notes of the students to the ministry.

The journey of crucial stakeholder engagement is always a challenging role that the Social Impact team played this time directly getting into the field. Visiting ICT ministry, tracking every calendar day, getting the minister’s call in the mid-night, potential chaos threat of political movement of both party on the same day were making the whole show nerve wrecking. however, as proverb goes ‘all well that ends well’- this goes for us this time. Finally, it came out as one of the most successful events in terms of stakeholder engagement. It was a one-hour session for the minister which overrun by 70 minutes.

At the event, Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman told, “TIME is NOW, for us to focus on getting future-fit, and unleash the potential of Bangladesh in the coming days. We must keep an open mind for learning and growing, because the heights of our dreams determine the heights of our next achievements”.

Special thanks to PRA team for their support & guidance.

The 20-year long partnership continues with Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK). On 21 April 2024, we signed an agreement to support BSK in their Book Reading Programme that aims to stimulate habit of reading amongst millions of children with the ambition to nurture a thoughtful future generation. Grameenphone have been supporting Bishwo Shahitto Kendro since 2004 in different capacity to support the cause. We are delighted to continue the journey to inspire children form the habit of reading books. This year 16,000 students will receive prizes for their book reading habit. These prizes will be distributed through five prize giving ceremonies in Chattogram, Barisal, Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Khulna.

Expressing gratitude to Grameenphone the Founder and Chairman of Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed, said “As a result of this collaboration, the reach of the National Enrichment Programme (Book Reading Programme) has expanded, and there has been a significant increase in students' interest in reading and we hope that this collaboration will continue seamlessly in the future”.

Later, Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed also spend some time interacting with some avid GP colleagues at an informal session at the Innovation Lab where he shared some very thought-provoking stories from his life experience and inspired the audience.

It is a great honor for Grameenphone to be recognized by SDG Brand Champion Award for the work we are actively doing to empower societies, specially focusing on Youth Empowerment, Digital Inclusion & Online Safety.

We have received the honorable mention in the category of sustainable partnership & institutions. Grameenphone stands out as one of the few organizations in Bangladesh working with such strong array of global and local development partners such as UNDP, Plan International, UNICEF, Cisco, BDRCS & BRAC to create a positive impact in the lives of millions.

The recognition from the Brand Forum and the honorable jury is a great inspiration for taking our journey forward to Empower Societies!

Big shout out the GP team who has been supporting, inspiring and delivering all the hard work! Congratulations to the team