DBS Bank announced a partnership with Singaporean world champion kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder on Jul. 11, 2024.

The partnership announcement comes ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where 17-year-old Maeder will be representing Singapore.

The deal involves the bank providing financial support for Maeder, and a DBS spokesperson told Mothership that the bank "has not placed any stipulations on how the sponsorship funds are to be utilised."

The partnership runs for four and a half years, and will thus cover the period leading up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Maeder was recently granted full-time National Service deferment till after the 2028 Olympics:

Maeder is a two-time and current world champion kitefoiler. He clinched the top prize at the 2023 and 2024 Formula Kite World Championships, and is an Asian Games gold medallist.

"A chance to touch the lives of young people"

Piyush Gupta, chief executive officer of DBS spoke about Maeder and the partnership in the press release.

Gupta said:

“I’m very impressed by how young Max is driven by an unwavering sense of purpose and by how much he has achieved on the world stage. It gives us great pride in joining him on his journey ahead, both in and out of the water."

Maeder called the partnership "a chance to touch the lives of young people, to share my journey and inspire them to trust their spark and fulfil their aspirations."

DBS previously partnered with Joseph Schooling, Singapore's first Olympic gold medallist, back in 2018.

The partnership with Schooling lasted three years from 2018 to 2020, and involved "reaching out to next-generation Singaporeans" through "community activities and social media engagements".

Top photo from DBS & @maximilianmaeder/Instagram.