NCBA BANK ADVANCES 20,000-TREE AMBITION AS ‘CHANGE THE STORY’ TAKES ROOT IN KISARAWE

Kigamboni District Commissioner and Guest of Honour, Dalmia Mikaya (left), and NCBA Bank Tanzania Managing Director and CEO Alex Mziray (next to her), participate in a tree-planting exercise at Kisarawe Primary School as part of NCBA’s Change the Story – Badilisha Simulizi initiative. The activity contributes to the Bank’s commitment to planting and nurturing 20,000 trees by December 2026.

Dar es Salaam; Septemba 27, 2026 - For pupils at Kisarawe Primary School, the trees planted in their school compound represent more than a greener environment. They represent a responsibility that could remain with them long after they leave the classroom.

NCBA Bank Tanzania has extended its Change the Story – Badilisha Simulizi sustainability initiative to Kisarawe Primary School, bringing together students, teachers, Government representatives, stakeholders and NCBA employees to plant trees and encourage young people to take an active role in protecting the environment.

The initiative was graced by Dalmia Mikaya as Guest of Honour, alongside NCBA Bank Tanzania Managing Director and CEO Alex Mziray.

The Kisarawe activity forms part of NCBA Bank Tanzania’s wider ambition to plant and nurture 20,000 trees by December 2026 across Arusha, Mwanza, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

But for the Bank, the story is not simply about how many seedlings go into the ground.

It is about how many survive, grow and continue creating environmental and social value for the communities around them.

Speaking during the initiative, Mziray said the distinction between planting and growing trees is central to NCBA’s approach to sustainability.

“Our ambition is not simply to plant seedlings and walk away. We want to see these trees survive, grow and create value for the communities around them. That means working with schools, students and communities so that they become part of the journey. This is how we turn Change the Story from an ambition into meaningful action,” said Mziray.

Putting the Next Generation at the Centre

By taking the initiative to a school, NCBA is placing young people at the centre of the sustainability conversation.

Students at Kisarawe Primary School were encouraged not only to participate in planting the trees but also to take responsibility for nurturing them and becoming environmental ambassadors within their school, homes and wider communities.

Guest of Honour Dalmia Mikaya said environmental conservation requires collective action and welcomed initiatives that give young people an opportunity to participate directly.

“Protecting our environment cannot be the responsibility of Government alone. It requires all of us — Government, the private sector, schools, communities and individuals. What makes an initiative like this particularly important is that we are involving our children. When we teach them to plant, nurture and protect trees today, we are helping to build a generation that understands its responsibility to the environment,” said Mikaya.

NCBA’s approach reflects a shift from viewing tree planting as a one-day activity towards building longer-term community ownership.

For the students, this means the trees planted at their school become something they can watch grow alongside them, reinforcing the connection between individual action and long-term environmental change.

Changing the Story Through Action

The Kisarawe initiative sits under NCBA Group’s broader Change the Story sustainability agenda, through which the Group has committed to environmental and social interventions across the markets in which it operates.

For NCBA Bank Tanzania, the programme is also closely connected to its philosophy of Banking on Belief – Empowering Ambitions and its local campaign, Ndoto Zako, Hatua Zetu.

Mziray said empowering ambitions cannot be separated from creating an environment in which those ambitions can thrive.

“When we talk about empowering ambitions, we must also think about the world in which those ambitions will be realised. The children planting trees with us today will be tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, professionals and leaders. Investing in their environment today is also an investment in the possibilities available to them tomorrow,” he said.

The Bank’s focus is therefore not only on planting but also on nurturing the trees to maturity, with students, schools and communities playing a role in ensuring their continued survival.

For NCBA, that is where the real meaning of Change the Story – Badilisha Simulizi lies: moving sustainability from intention to action and ensuring that the action taken today creates measurable value tomorrow.

At Kisarawe Primary School, that story has begun with a simple act — putting a seedling into the ground.

Its true impact will be measured in the years ahead, as the trees and the children entrusted with caring for them continue to grow.

Banking on Belief. Empowering Ambitions.
Ndoto Zako, Hatua Zetu.

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