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CNN’s As Equals series expands with new three-year grant
MUMBAI: CNN’s award-winning As Equals series is expanding with a new three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This grant will support CNN’s reporting on gender inequality with a particular focus on the world’s least-developed countries and increased programming about the adversities women and girls around the world endure every day.
As Equals was launched in January 2018 to underscore the acute inequalities and injustices facing women and girls from countries in the global south. Its reporting has prompted real-life impact including the commuted death sentence of teenage bride Noura Hussein and Rwandan opposition politician Diane Rwigara’s release from jail.
CNN will form a dedicated team, including six new hires, to work exclusively on gender inequality for As Equals and build out a global network with key regional partners to tell these stories from around the globe.
Women and girls are often the biggest casualties of crises. Already, Covid2019 has led to spikes in gender-based violence and restrictions in access to family planning, while warnings have been issued about the large numbers of girls who may not return to school and the corresponding increase in child marriages that will likely come from that. As the crisis continues, As Equals will keep the spotlight firmly on women’s issues as part of the global recovery efforts, including their involvement in decision making.
Through an unwavering commitment to elevate underrepresented voices and empower women journalists, the series has received accolades recognizing its stand-out work in advancing taboo subjects, innovative presentation and impactful storytelling affecting change. The compelling reporting that’s been honoured includes an investigation that revealed the Kenyan government’s pledge to send a mission to investigate substantial allegations of abuse and wrongdoing in the country’s Beirut consulate, and an interactive calculator to understand period poverty.
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Axis Bank launches ‘Dil Se Open – ASLI KYC’ campaign
Bank shifts from compliance to genuine customer connection through five heartfelt films.
MUMBAI: Axis Bank has just taken KYC from paperwork to people-work because when bankers truly know their customers, even the forms start smiling. Axis Bank is setting a new benchmark in brand storytelling with its latest campaign, ‘Dil Se Open – ASLI KYC’. More than a marketing push, the initiative signals a cultural shift within the bank, empowering employees to move from reactive service to proactive engagement.
The campaign builds on the long-running ‘Dil Se Open’ philosophy, rooted in warmth, empathy, kindness, positivity and openness. Since 2018, these values have shaped Axis Bank’s approach to forging deeper customer relationships.
The new chapter infuses this foundation with greater proactiveness. Through five evocative films, KYC is elevated from a regulatory checklist into a storytelling platform that reveals the human side of banking. Each story shows bankers proactively uncovering unspoken dreams and aspirations, then matching them with suitable solutions.
The films cover diverse scenarios: a banker stepping into the world of a wildlife photographer to recommend appropriate insurance; learning Sanskrit to connect with an elderly customer under the Silver Linings programme; researching a restaurant’s surroundings to enable expansion via a collateral-free loan; studying Gen Z preferences to support a fashion designer’s international plans through Trade & Forex Services; and analysing a dentist’s needs to facilitate a new practice via a Medical Equipment Loan.
Axis Bank MD & CEO Amitabh Chaudhry said, “ASLI KYC reflects our unwavering commitment to customer centricity and our vision for the future of banking.”
Axis Bank chief marketing officer Anoop Manohar added, “When bankers proactively take the effort to truly know their customers, the solutions naturally become more relevant and impactful.”
TBWA\Lintas, president for creative Kapil Batra noted, “Asli KYC is about moving from knowing customers on paper to truly understanding them, their lives, their needs and their intent.”
With this campaign, Axis Bank demonstrates how routine interactions can spark memorable stories where empathy, insight and authenticity drive both business growth and brand impact.
In the world of banking, where numbers usually rule, Axis Bank is proving that the most valuable deposits are the ones you make in people’s lives, one genuine conversation at a time.
