[Interview] CA Val de France supports a Solidarity Bankers mission in Cambodia

Interview with Laurence Lebrun-Renoult, Managing Director, CA Val de France

©Philippe Lissac

Launched by the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation and Crédit Agricole SA, Solidarity Bankers is a skills-based volunteer program that offers Group employees technical assistance missions with organizations supported by the Foundation. In 2019, the Val de France Regional Bank supported a Solidarity Bankers mission in Cambodia. For 10 days in September, Dominique Rombczyk, Risk Analyst at the Regional Bank, went to Cambodia to carry out a "financial management" mission for the Cirque Phare (PPSE), a social enterprise in which the Foundation is a shareholder.

– What was your Fund’s motivation in participating in the Solidarity Bankers program?

When one of our employees took the initiative to apply for a Solidarity Banker assignment, our Fund naturally supported his request and granted a week of skills sponsorship. Dominique Rombczyk was thus able to put his skills to use in the financial management of Cirque Phare (PPSE). PPSE is a Cambodian social enterprise that promotes social inclusion and youth empowerment through arts and culture. This is a source of pride for us because the approach is fully in line with our values of support.

– What feedback do you get from this?

Solidarity Bankers is one of those programs that makes us more aware of the social consequences of our banking activities. It advances a sustainable vision of finance, both in practice and in minds. Within our Regional Bank, the initiative led by our employee has helped share and disseminate within teams the human qualities of openness and commitment that we promote. In addition to communication at the Group level, his experience has, for example, made headlines in internal communications. For us bankers, knowing how to mobilize our skills to serve others, being open and adapting to different contexts and issues are aptitudes, "soft skills," that must inhabit our profession.

– What other actions does your Regional Fund take in terms of social inclusion?

As a regional bank, the issue of social cohesion in the regions is a strategic priority. The CA Val de France Foundation leads initiatives in support of local and regional associations working towards youth inclusion on the one hand, and intergenerational support on the other. We operate with them through skills-based sponsorship, on a voluntary basis, based on the same model as the Solidarity Bankers missions. For example, we are launching a youth training project, for which all our employees' expertise is welcome for support missions: assistance with financial management, activities, advice, etc. We also work with young people to support isolated people, often elderly people, which fosters dialogue between generations. All of this is part of a broader approach aimed at promoting the socio-economic autonomy of populations.

Source : Integrated Report 2019, Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation. Download here