Government Savings Bank

Holistic Area-Based Development

Project Commitment to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

INTRODUCTION

GSB initiated the project “GSB with Love, Khun NAN” to become the first successful model under its “Holistic Area-Based Development” initiative, in line with its position as a Social Bank. 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.

To uplift the quality of life and enhance self-reliance in these communities, GSB has devised a comprehensive plan that addresses 10 key dimensions. These are access to finance & debt problem; financial literacy & promotion of savings; healthcare; infrastructure; waste management; religion and education; tourist attraction development; job creation; raising income through agroforestry; and reforestation.

GSB’s short-term target is to provide them with basic necessities for livelihood. In the long-term, GSB will help them earn more and sustainable income, improve access to finance, healthcare, education, and all other aspects to improve quality of life.

FRAMEWORK AND STRATEGY

“GSB with Love, Khun NAN” is the first project that GSB developed to holistically help people in the remote area. As a Social Bank, GSB aims to support SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities. It also has roles in promoting opportunities for people to access to finance services and improving financial literacy.

This project fulfills the duties of its roles as the people in the selected communities are very poor and do not have adequate access to finance; therefore, GSB puts all necessary efforts and resources into the project. After a series of field trips, GSB gathered data on the needs of the communities and crafted a plan for livelihood and quality of life improvements. However, as the project’s scale is quite big, GSB seeks partners who share the same values of helping underserved groups of people to have a better life and to help the community get through the hardship faster and more effectively.

ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPACT

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 and 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.

FUTURE DIRECTION

In the future, GSB expects that the project will serve as a model for other organizations, whether big corporations or large state enterprises, looking to engage in community development. A key focus of the project will be on creating approaches that address the specific needs of the target community. Collaboration with partners, such as the local government and civil society organizations will be critical to the success of the project. To ensure that the project can be adopted by others, GSB will set up a monitoring and evaluation system to measure the impact and provide evidence of success.

Ultimately, the future direction of this “Holistic Area-Based Development” is aimed at creating long-term, positive impacts in underserved communities throughout Thailand while influencing others to adopt similar models. By doing this, in a short period of time, the difficulties of the targeted communities across the country will receive assistance and be able to develop more quickly and effectively.

Government Savings Bank (GSB) is one of the largest state enterprises in Thailand. It has a clear Mission to make a positive impact on society through dual missions – 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.

www.gsb.or.th