Emirates Foundation Sharpens Skills in Social Entrepreneurship

Emirates Foundation Sharpens Skills in Social Entrepreneurship

Employees of the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development received world-class training in designing and running social projects recently as part of the Foundation’s new mission to create sustainable solutions to pressing social need.

The Abu Dhabi-based workshop, run by Ashoka, a global organisation supporting social entrepreneurs, is part of the group’s move into venture philanthropy. Employees and senior management are gaining business skills to create, implement budget and measure impact of social entrepreneurship programmes which is a shift from the foundation’s previous grant giving strategy that required more administrative skills.

Participants discussed the concept of social enterprises, success factors of a social enterprise, and how to grow and sustain innovative social enterprise that solves a social problem.

Commenting on this event, H.E. Khuloud Al Nowais, Chief Sustainability Officer at Emirates Foundation for Youth Development said: “The foundation is adopting the social enterprise model as part of its new strategy to create long term sustainable programmes that address youth related challenges.

“This training is instrumental to upgrading the local talents and skill set of the organization who is now adopting a business model that will allow them to achieve greater more measurable impact,” she said.

In order to deliver this new mission the Foundation has embraced venture philanthropy – a growing global philanthropic model looking to change the whole concept of ‘giving’ to a transparent, business results-oriented approach.

“Venture philanthropy recognises there are no quick-fixes to creating tangible, developmental results,” Emirates Foundation Chief Sustainability Officer said.

“Instead of giving money on a short-term reactive basis it looks at investing in programs and initiatives that earn social returns. This increases the measurable impact and opens the way for foundations like ours to play an even greater role in advancing the nation’s socio-economic progress.”

The new approach – which draws from the business principles of venture capital and social enterprises – looks for new ideas, and new solutions to social issues. It aims to go beyond providing merely finance and instead works with partners to build sustainable, measurable and replicable initiatives that can respond effectively to developmental challenges.

“It’s about so much more than money, we want to work with our partners to go way beyond funding,” explains Al Nuwais.

“We’re developing a new kind of collaborative relationship whereby we test new ideas, then scale them up and spin them off when they are ready to be self-sustaining. Our programs ideas we believe can address issues facing young people positively and permanently. These could be issues related to understanding employment opportunities, developing leadership skills and engaging more directly in the community. All of these serve to support and guide young people and help them navigate the complexities of a highly connected world.”

Iman Bibars, Regional Director and Vice President at Ashoka Global said: “I’m very excited about this initial step of collaboration between Ashoka Arab World and the Emirates Foundation. Social entrepreneurship is vital for fostering innovation and sustainable growth within the region. As a leading regional platform for social entrepreneurship, we at Ashoka are proud to be partnering with the Emirates Foundation, an organization well known for its commitment to driving large scale, development-oriented programs. Furthermore, we are confident that the United Arab Emirates is a fertile land of innovation and entrepreneurship. Our aim is to uncover its great potential and enable local ideas to be known world-wide. We do believe that now is the right time for working on increasing the scale and the impact of social entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates, and supporting top-notch local innovation and solutions.”

The Emirates Foundation was launched in April 2005 as an initiative from His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

It is chaired by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 2012, the Emirates Foundation was re-launched under the name “Emirates Foundation for Youth Development” as an integrated national initiative that seeks to invest in UAE youth.

The new strategy adopts venture philanthropy which aims to impact the lives of UAE youth positively and permanently through measurable projects.

The Foundation is funded through contributions from the Abu Dhabi government and private sector companies channeled to support its endowment fund.

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