17/03/2022 - ABN Amro Bank NV: Cooperation with Patta Academy extended

Last Friday 11 March, the first batch of participants in the Patta Academy completed their training. The programme, an initiative of streetwear label Patta supported by ABN AMRO, teaches young people how to discover their talents and prepares them to become successful entrepreneurs.

ABN AMRO's partnership with the Patta Academy is one of the bank's initiatives aimed at providing equal opportunities for all. After the successful conclusion of the very first programme, the cooperation between ABN AMRO and the Patta Academy has now been extended.

The bank joined the Patta Academy in the summer of 2021 in order to create more social impact. The Patta Academy is an initiative of Edson Sabajo and Guillaume Schmidt, founders of the international streetwear brand Patta.

With the academy, they want to help young people find their path in life, offering them a place to discover their passion. Over the past few months, the first 25 young people attended a range of workshops and master classes, some of them given by employees of our bank.

This gave them the opportunity to discover their talents, develop personally and meet various professionals. Last Friday, the first batch concluded the programme by delivering a final pitch for their business to an audience of ABN AMRO bankers.

Two-way learning

The collaboration with Patta Academy is one of ABN AMRO Foundation's initiatives to promote equal opportunities. Ernst Boekhorst of ABN AMRO Foundation believes that the cooperation with Patta Academy makes a good fit with the foundation's ambitions. "We help young people discover their talents and ambitions. But what's even more remarkable is hearing our colleagues say how much they in their turn actually learned from the young participants."

As a partner, we support the programme by deploying trainers and advisers, and by making our network available. Over the past year, twenty ABN AMRO colleagues have contributed to training courses on topics such as money matters, marketing, entrepreneurship and sustainability. Our head office in Amsterdam's Zuidas business district served as the academy's home base.