Emirates Foundation, an independent philanthropic organisation set up by the Abu Dhabi Government to facilitate public-private partnerships for empowering youth across the UAE, has held the first round of its Business Breakfast Social Investment forum for 2015.
This quarterly event unites representatives from public and private sector institutions from across the UAE that are interested in furthering their social investment or CSR activities.
The forum focused on the topic of social enterprise development and also featured the announcement of the second edition of the Emirates Award for Arabian Gulf Youth (EAAGY).
Under the theme, “Enabling Environments for Social Enterprise Development”, a panel debate explored the current landscape of social entrepreneurship in the UAE and discussed ways to create an environment in which social enterprise is encouraged and supported.
Discussions also covered the broader issue of social investment and the importance of creating a vibrant social enterprise society, which can also make a major contribution to economic growth and better public services.
The panel session was led by Clare Woodcraft-Scott, CEO of the Emirates Foundation, with interjections from four key panelists – John Habib, Chief Legal Counsel of MENA Bridge Advisors, Medea Nocentini, Founder of C3, Hala Salem, Advisor – Social Development Policy and Strategy, The General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai and Dr Iman Bibars, the Regional Director for Ashoka Arab World (AAW).
Commenting on the forum, Woodcraft-Scott said: “This forum aims to serve as a platform for building a more comprehensive analysis of favourable environments for social enterprises. The issues raised today will help us create a more enabling and encouraging environment to support the empowerment of social entrepreneurship and contribute to the growth of the overall ‘third sector’ in the UAE.
“While an entrepreneur might create entirely new industries, a social entrepreneur develops innovative solutions to social problems and then implements them on a large scale.”
Her Excellency Khuloud Al Nuwais, Chief Sustainability Officer at the Emirates Foundation said: “A social enterprise is a business driven by social purposes. Successful social enterprises generate surpluses or profits which are reinvested towards achieving their social mission.
“The Emirates Foundation’s philanthropic model is built on this concept. We see the social enterprise sector as the most effective way of creating scalable and measureable impact because it takes a market based approach. Each of the Foundation’s six programs is built on this model – aiming to provide products or services to solve youth issues in a way that is scalable and sustainable.”
“Delivering innovative, cost-effective alternatives for dealing with social economic challenges is absolutely critical to bring about positive impact at scale.”
John Habib, Chief Legal Counsel of MENA Bridge Advisors, said: “Social enterprise is not a new concept and demand for social enterprise solutions will only increase. The key now is to focus on how social enterprise can sustain its growth and generate more impact.
“This forum provided a unique opportunity for thought leaders to discuss ways of doing just that and I feel that the points we have raised today will provide impetus for real progress. I would like to thank Emirates Foundation for inviting me to join this debate and I feel privileged to have been a part of it.”
During the forum, Her Excellency Maytha Al Habsi, Chief Programme Officer at Emirates Foundation officially announced the EAAGY, an innovative competition aimed at encouraging young venture philanthropists from across the GCC to come up with solutions to regional social issues.
Al Habsi said: “This award is a key component of Emirates Foundation’s strategy of supporting the youth, developing their skills and enabling them to serve their communities. EAAGY challenges and encourages the new generation of entrepreneurs to innovate, which on its own benefits various spectrums of the community in the region.
“We look forward to welcoming a whole host of talented young people from across the region to flex their entrepreneurial muscles and demonstrate their ability to solve social challenges.”
The competition is open to Arabian Gulf nationals aged between 18 and 35, who are encouraged to submit their ideas that for sustainable social enterprises through a video application on the Foundation’s website.
Applicants will be narrowed down to 15 names, who will receive mentorship, and three winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi on November 18. The winners will receive funding and mentorship from the Emirates Foundation to sustain their social enterprise idea.
Last year, applicants from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were named as winners of the award, receiving incubation grants for their social enterprise proposals at the annual Recognition Ceremony. Emiratis Mashaal Al Marzooqi and Saeed Al Nazari came first for their project Factory of Dreams and were awarded a grant of AED100,000.
Second place went to Maha Al Otaibi, from Saudi Arabia, for her waterproof hearing aid project. She was awarded AED70,000. Zakeyah Al Sada, from Bahrain, placed third for her Health Food Programme System for School Students Lunch Box project. She received a grant of AED50,000.
Emirates Foundation and its public and private sector partners work to create a positive and lasting impact on the lives of UAE youth through the development of long-term, sustainable and scalable projects which address pressing social issues while creating opportunities for young people to volunteer and serve the community.
Mohanna Al Muhairi, Chief Operating Officer at Emirates Foundation said: “Emirates Foundation is committed towards forging key strategic partnerships with public and private sector companies in order to encourage investment in our programmes, which in turn will have a lasting and positive social impact on the youth.”
