A Global Commitment to Advancing Inclusive Growth
What We are DoingAcross 40 countries, JPMorgan Chase is bringing our resources and expertise to bear to create greater economic opportunities, particularly for low-income and underserved groups. No matter where we are, we are putting into practice the philosophy that underpins our firm’s model for driving inclusive growth: leveraging our financial assets, as well as the expertise of our firm’s people — in collaboration with local partners — to holistically address the challenges facing our communities.
Our firm’s philanthropic presence spans from Brazil to India, China to the United Kingdom. Around the world, we are applying our model for inclusive economic growth based on the common elements communities need to thrive: Young people need the skills to succeed in the workforce. Entrepreneurs need the resources to start and grow thriving small businesses. Individuals and families need the tools to be financially stable. And while we’re using what we’ve learned to address these issues, we are also tailoring our approach to meet the unique challenges of each location.
The art form, as I see it, is to embed our efforts within the context of these varying economic and social environments — and to make them work in the service of each local community. This is precisely what our firm is doing — as can be seen in our partnership with the China Development Research Foundation to help equip young people across four provinces in China with the adequate skills they need to compete for jobs, or in our work to expand opportunities for small businesses and microenterprises in South Africa’s “green economy.”
Increasingly, we are also supporting programs and unique regional partnerships that stretch beyond individual countries — using our firm’s global footprint to make a broader and more systemic impact. One example is our partnership with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to develop the first internationally comparable indicators to capture skill needs and identify imbalances, feeding into a cross-country database and policy recommendations for several European countries and South Africa.
The corporate responsibility model JPMorgan Chase is putting into practice around the world is as focused as it is flexible. Wherever we are in the world, we are singularly committed to helping more people move up the economic ladder, while doing so in ways that are responsive to each community’s unique needs.
“Delivering economic growth for all tiers of society requires proactive and sustained collaboration between the public, private and nonprofit sectors. I commend J.P. Morgan’s long-term commitment to an evidence-based approach to bringing together stakeholders and supporting efforts to tackle economic and financial inclusion across London.”
Partnership Spotlights
Paris suburbs (left) J.P. Morgan France Senior Country Officer Kyril Courboin reviews student projects as part of the Paris Schools Challenge.
East London (right) MyBnk’s The Money House gives young people hands-on financial health training and support.
Paris Suburbs
Our firm is working to bridge the gap between opportunity and access in economically distressed areas both inside and outside Paris, known as Quartiers prioritaires de la politique de la ville (QPV), where unemployment levels are twice the national average.
Through our model for driving inclusive growth, we are providing entrepreneurs with the resources to launch and grow their small businesses so they can create jobs and stimulate economic growth in their communities. For example, we are partnering with Impact Partenaires, a French social venture fund launched in 2008 by 80 French business leaders, on a program aimed at growing 250 small business franchises and creating as many as 1,500 new job opportunities for QPV residents.
We are also supporting programs to equip youth living in the Paris suburbs with the skills and training they need to access job opportunities, through the Schools Challenge. The program helps raise awareness of and encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). As part of the program, sixty 15-year-old students from Seine St. Denis work with JPMorgan Chase employees. Together, they imagine innovative, practical solutions to the most pressing issues faced in cities, such as building a drone to pick up trash or creating an app to help elderly people in emergencies.
The Schools Challenge program is being deployed in London, Paris and Milan, offering young people an exchange program between these cities and providing them with new skills and a chance to experience new cultures.
East London
We are applying what we’ve learned from cities around the world to ensure that more people can access the benefits of East London’s growing economy. For example, we are supporting small businesses through partnerships with organizations such as Allia, which has established a new incubator, Future Business Centre. The incubator identifies and supports local businesses making a positive social impact in East London, and is creating employment for 300 local residents, especially women and first- and second-generation immigrant entrepreneurs.
In our efforts to create a skilled workforce in East London, we are partnering with Queen Mary University of London to deliver QConsult, a work-based learning program for undergraduate students from low-income backgrounds. Participating students are placed within local small businesses in East London to work on a defined project and are supported by JPMorgan Chase mentors. The award-winning program provides valuable work experience and mentoring to the students, as well as much-needed talent to local businesses. After completion, 96 percent of QConsult students find jobs or continue their education. In addition, we are supporting the University College London Institute of Education program, which improves vocational, professional and technical education training for over 700 students in East London.
JPMorgan Chase is also focused on improving the financial health of Londoners.Our support has helped MyBnk expand The Money House program, allowing an additional 134 young people who have been in foster care to benefit from this unique financial capability training program. In a simulated apartment, participants learn to pay bills, shop for food and learn other essential financial skills to prepare them for independent living. The program has helped reduce participants’ risk of being late with their rent payments by threefold compared with their peers who have not undergone the training.
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