NBS Bank Plc on April 25, 2024 handed over a K24 million cheque to Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) to support four needy students with tuition fees and upkeep up to their final years.

The bank made the pledge to support the students when MUST held a fundraising golf tournament in Blantyre in August last year.

Speaking at the cheque handover ceremony, NBS Bank Plc Head of Treasury Sales Dindwase Jere said the decision to give back to the community followed their successful turn-around that saw them posting profits after years of financial turbulence.

“We could have come in my earlier but we went through a tough financial period for several years. It is only in the past few years that we have started posting profits. And as part of celebrating the support from our customers, we decided to give back to them and this is one way of doing that,” she said, adding that this was only the beginning as the future holds better things.

She also called on the students to work hard because their performance will be critical for the bank to decide on whether or not to extend the sponsorship to other students. 

MUST Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Wilson Mandala thanked the bank for its generosity, saying with the current economic challenges, they could have easily prioritized recapitalization.

“Coming from a period of losses like you have done, others would have prioritized to consolidate their financial stand. You have been different because you have decided to make some social investments by supporting needy students,” he said.

Professor Mandala said there are several areas of collaboration between MUST and the bank, apart from this and possible businesses.

“We have students who need internship placements, we would also appreciate if our lecturers can be attached to industry for practical experience and even for industries to challenge us with their operational processes and systems so we can find solutions for them through students’ hackathons,” said Professor Mandala, who also reiterated on the need for the beneficiary students to work hard to demonstrate their appreciation to the bank.

The students who are under this NBS Bank Plc scholarship are Benjamin Wilson (Bachelor of Science in Geo-Information and Earth Observation Science), Thomas Sanleck (Bachelor of Science in Sciences Education), Gerald Mlangali (Bachelor of Arts in Language, Communication and Culture), and Fredrick Thomson (Bachelor of Science in Earth Science).