A new generation of philanthropists from Gulf countries is adopting a more hands-on approach by designing development programs rather than merely funding existing initiatives. Sonia Ben Jaafar, CEO of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation, highlights this shift, emphasizing the use of performance metrics to evaluate grants and ensure measurable outcomes. The foundation, founded in 2015, has reached approximately 500,000 young people over a decade, focusing on education and job placement with an average rate of 78%. This article discusses how private donors are seeking innovative partnerships with businesses and governments to address humanitarian needs effectively.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
As Western governments slash foreign aid, many organizations are seeking Gulf philanthropy to fill the gaps.
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organizations → slash → gaps
While wealthy individuals and governments in the region are ready to take on a larger role, a younger generation of donors isn’t content with plowing money into existing programs, and is instead seeking new approaches with more effective and measurable outcomes.
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generation → take → outcomes
Sonia Ben Jaafar, CEO of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation, told Semafor that private donors from the Gulf want to be more involved in designing development programs rather than simply financing them.
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donors → tell → them
She said the region’s charities have developed their own expertise that can help inform changes to improve existing charitable programs.
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that → say → programs
The foundation she runs — established in 2015 by Emirati billionaire Abdulla Al Ghurair and chaired by his son Abdul Aziz — has become one of the Arab world’s largest privately funded education initiatives, reaching about 500,000 young people over the past decade.
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she → run → decade
The foundation runs like a business, using performance metrics to evaluate its grants and tying funding decisions to outcomes such as job placement rates, Ben Jaafar said.
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Jaafar → run → rates
The approach fits within a broader push by Badr Jafar, the UAE’s special envoy for business and philanthropy, to bring private donors, businesses, and governments together to address humanitarian needs.
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approach → fit → needs
In an interview in New York during the UN General Assembly, Ben Jaafar discussed the changing role of private wealth in the region, and why her foundation is quick to drop programs that don’t deliver results.
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that → discuss → results
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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interview → edit → length
Why is private philanthropy hesitant to step in to cover underfunded programs that have been abandoned by many governments?
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that → step → governments
The narrative that philanthropic capital will just fill that up is not going to happen.
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capital → fill → that
What we’re hearing in the discussions, at least that I’m in, in the closed rooms, is: What does the new framework look like?
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framework → hear → What
Because it cannot be more of the same, and philanthropic capital shouldn’t be coming in as a gap filler.
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capital → come → filler
We need a new model of how public, private, and philanthropy — this is the new three Ps — are going to partner together.
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this → need → model
How does the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation measure the success of its programs?
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Foundation → measure → programs
We have a strategy that would look like any business, except instead of generating revenue, we need to generate impact for the communities we serve.
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we → have → communities
We have, on average, a [jobs] placement rate of 78%, which is a very high placement rate in my field.
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which → have → field
We don’t count just who we train.
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we → count → who
We want to know that that training landed them into a revenue-generating life.
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training → want → life
You were early to get into Syria after the war ended.
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war → get → Syria
What are you focusing on there?
We’re training young Syrians to learn construction skills, and paying them to attend an apprenticeship program.
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We → focus → program
Those graduates will then work on the schools we started to refurbish there.
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we → work → schools
During the war, we started a fund in 2018 that was focused on educating refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.
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that → start → Lebanon
Some of those Syrians are now returnees and are being picked up by government administration and companies to support the reconstruction.
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Some → pick → reconstruction
Have you funded programs that didn’t work?
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that → fund → programs
We have funded programs that we were sure would work, and we were sure we had the right partner to implement it.
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we → fund → it
Because it’s outcomes-based funding, if you cannot meet the milestone and you don’t have a good reason, or we can’t find a solution with you, then we will defund that.
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we → ’ → that
We’ll stop.
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We → stop → ?
We’ll sunset that, and we’ll find a new way of doing it.
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we → sunset → it
Notable
- Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair runs his philanthropy like a business.
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Ghurair → run → business
The foundation’s chairman urged donors to set measurable goals and work with governments and businesses to maximize impact.
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chairman → urge → impact
- The Gulf’s wealth transfer could reshape charitable giving.
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transfer → reshape → giving
Badr Jafar, the UAE’s special envoy for business and philanthropy, told Semafor that more than $1 trillion will change hands in the region by 2030, accelerating a shift toward impact-driven philanthropy.
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trillion → tell → philanthropy
The Aporia
