The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) 2023 is pleased to honor 78 outstanding business leaders and enterprises for championing sustainable and responsible business practices. Presented by leading regional NGO Enterprise Asia, the AREA is the most reputable award recognition program recognizing organizational efforts in creating a culture of compassion, integrity, and in being socially responsible corporate citizens. The AREA serves as a badge of excellence to spur further innovation and best-practice sharing for your organization and the world at large.
Government Savings Bank and its President & CEO, Vitai Ratanakorn, were among the recipients who were conferred with the Social Empowerment and Responsible Business Leadership Awards. Government Savings Bank (GSB) is one of the largest state enterprises in Thailand. Through the dual missions of commercial and social missions, profit from the company’s commercial businesses will be used to subsidize its social missions. Aiming to reduce inequality and lower poverty in Thailand is what makes GSB to be recognized as a Social Bank.
For its Social Empowerment Award, GSB initiated the project “GSB with Love, Khun NAN” to become the first successful model under its “Holistic Area-Based Development” initiative. This project aims to establish self-reliance in the area of five villages in the Khun NAN sub-district, which are underserved communities located on the border of Thailand and Laos.
This “Holistic Area-Based Development” project has made significant improvements in the quality of life for underserved communities. Though still in progress, this initiative has already achieved positive results in various dimensions. One of the most significant achievements of the project is the increased access to basic necessities such as finance, healthcare, and education. This increase in accessibility is critical to building local capacity and allowing the community to become more self-reliant. Another significant achievement is the provision of economic opportunities for the community.
Through training, people in the community are acquiring new skills that can help them generate more sustainable income, and build self-reliant communities in the long term. In addition, the project has brought a diverse range of stakeholders together to work towards a common goal. The involvement of local and national organizations signifies the level of commitment that has been put towards the success of this project
For Vitai Ratanakorn’s Responsible Business Leadership Award, he is widely acclaimed and honored among the banking and investment industries as being a change leader. He took office as the President and CEO of Government Savings Bank (GSB) on July 1st, 2020. He repositioned GSB to become a ‘Social Bank’ with the aim of “Making a Positive Impact on Society”.
For the past three years, as GSB’s president and CEO, Vitai has initiated over 50 projects aimed at improving the quality of life for the poor. One of the flagship projects, launched in late 2022, is the “Holistic Area-Based Development Project” in Nan province. This project initially aimed to address poverty and environmental issues in five remote villages in the Nan province where residents relied on shifting cultivation for a meager living, the process of which was also destroying the environment.
One of the most notable achievements of the project is the increased access to basic necessities such as finance, healthcare, and education. This accessibility will allow the community to develop its capacity to become more self-reliant. Another significant achievement is the provision of economic opportunities by imparting new skills and promoting sustainable income generation.
About Enterprise Asia
Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization in pursuit of creating an Asia that is rich in entrepreneurship as an engine toward sustainable and progressive economic and social development within a world of economic equality. Its two pillars of existence are investment in people and responsible entrepreneurship. Enterprise Asia works with governments, NGOs and other organizations to promote competitiveness and entrepreneurial development, in uplifting the economic status of people across Asia and in ensuring a legacy of hope, innovation and courage for the future generation. Please visit https://www.enterpriseasia.org/ for more information.
About Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA)
The Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards program recognizes and honors Asian businesses for championing sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship in the categories of Green Leadership, Investment in People, Health Promotion, Social Empowerment, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy Leadership, Corporate Sustainability Reporting, and Responsible Business Leadership. For more information, visit: https://enterpriseasia.org/area/.