Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation, AMAF, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with Emirates NBD as part of its ongoing efforts to boost educational endowments and enable minors under its care to continue their higher studies.

Omar Jumaa Al Mazmi, Director of AMAF’s Endowment Development Department, and Vikram Krishna, Executive Vice President and Head of Group Marketing and Customer Experience at Emirates NBD, signed the agreement.

Under the MoU, Emirates NBD and AMAF are mandated to collaborate in three key areas with a focus on organising charitable and humanitarian campaigns and events towards developing and investing endowment funds. Members of Plus Points, a loyalty programme for Emirates NBD credit card holders, will now be able to convert their points to monetary donations that help AMAF’s minors continue their studies.

The bank will also support the foundation’s endowment projects, including the Year of Zayed Project, whose proceeds are allocated towards empowering the underprivileged segments of society. Finally, AMAF and Emirates NBD will promote each other’s charitable activities via their social media platforms, as well as through emails and text messages.

Commenting on the agreement, Al Mazmi said, "AMAF proactively builds strategic partnerships with leading organisations that share its vision for empowering minors and promoting the culture of endowment. Our cooperation with Emirates NBD – a bank whose corporate social responsibility initiatives and contributions to the UAE’s economic development are well known – presents an ideal opportunity to implement projects that strengthen the endowment sector and enhance the UAE’s status as a leading global provider of humanitarian and charitable assistance."

"We will cooperate in exchanging knowledge and expertise on investments that serve the society and support public benefit projects. We believe these efforts will improve the lives of many and set new benchmarks for collaboration for public and private sector entities to enable next generations to build a prosperous future," he added In turn, Ahmed Al Marzouqi, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Retail Distribution at Emirates NBD, said, "We are pleased to establish synergies with AMAF that allow our customers to donate and make a difference to our society. Customers can now play a proactive role in addressing urgent humanitarian challenges through the Plus Points programme and our social media platforms. We are confident that this cooperation will enable both our organisations to share best practices in executing projects that enhance the quality of life of the underprivileged segments in the UAE."