Berry Marttin
Our impact on our customers
Member of the Managing Board
responsible for Rural Retail
International, Sustainability,
Leasing and Banking for Food
Inspiration Centre.
was satisfying and energizing to hear the
positive feedback from our clients and
employees on our restated mission, and
to show them just how it has inspired the
company's entire leadership too.
Another one of last year's highlights for
me was the worldwide rollout of the
Global Farmers platform. Global Farmers
is an online community where Rabobank's
farming clients can exchange of ideas, and
pool knowledge and experiences. I am
confident that it will quickly become a key
platform for helping our rural clients to
grow a better world together.
In Australia, I was impressed to see how
RaboDirect linked our purpose to the
interests of savers. The concept of'Saving
with a Purpose' shows clients how much
money they could save by reducing their
food waste, one of our four kickstart
themes.
In Africa, Rabo Development launched
our ARISE partnership pooling our assets,
network and expertise with development
institutions Norfund and FMO to
strengthen and develop inclusive financial
systems in Africa. By supporting local
banks Rabo Development helped about
1.9 million rural individuals in Africa, Asia
and South America.
I am very proud of the independent
Rabobank Foundation of which we are
the founding father. Its work is dear to
my heart and its efforts have not gone
unnoticed. In July, the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations awarded Rabobank
Foundation the Jacques Diouf Award for its
'many years of dedication to improving the
lives and food security of small farmers in
developing countries'.
If I had to choose a single key turning
point for 2017 it would be the launch of
the Banking for Food Inspiration Centre in
Q1.lt proves that we have entered a new
phase in our efforts to support the global
transition to a sustainable Food Agri
industry. It shows that our commitment
goes beyond just managing relationships
to inspiring and driving real change. It's
clear to me that our mission of Growing
a better world together resonates deeply
with our employees and clients.
Many parties can provide money, but
very few do it with a higher purpose. I
have been working on that purpose with
the Banking for Food team for years. So,
in October I was delighted to be able to
launch our Kickstart Food initiative with
Wiebe Draijertoan international audience
in Washington, D. C. to support the launch
of our new mission statement: Growing a
better world together. For me, our restated
mission really underscores what Rabobank
has in fact been doing for years. Taking
leadership and responsibility in the debate
on how to feed the world sustainably.
In October, we had a meeting with our
Managing Board and Supervisory Board in
the US, where we also had the opportunity
to visit several clients and partners. It
