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14 November 2016
By Shane McGinley
The slowdown in economic growth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is only just beginning, but the challenging business environment ahead has not deterred those in the region from pursuing philanthropic initiatives, Emirati business leader Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair told Zawya in an interview.
Al Ghurair, who is the CEO of Dubai-based lender Mashreq bank and the chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, said the new reality of low oil prices should spur executives around the region to think of new ways to improve the life of people and not just of their businesses.
“We are at the beginning of a slowdown, 2016 is the beginning. It started in 2015 but we had resisted and the impact was felt this year, some impact will be felt next year and that is the beginning of the cycle,” he told Zawya in an interview in late October.
“When the economy slows down we also adjust ourselves so we have agile and nimble and be able to adjust ourselves to the temperature outside. It is good discipline to have this bump in the road once in a while.”
He is personally advocating the establishment of an Islamic philanthropy network to develop “a homegrown approach” to the challenges faced by Arab and Muslim citizens, including unemployment, poverty and lack of access to high quality education and health services.
Governments in the Gulf Arab region and wider Middle East have stepped up efforts to diversify sources of revenue and introduce economic and social reform following the sharp drop in crude oil prices over the last two years that have hit state revenues and led to cuts in spending, including on generous subsidies programmes. The International Monetary Fund in April revised the UAE’s 2016 growth outlook to a more moderate 2.4 percent, down from the 3.9 percent recorded in 2015.
“In the past, we had the luxury of going wrong, because it doesn’t matter, I can absorb going wrong. I think people think smarter now than three years ago. During a difficult time great ideas come. In a great time everybody is a genius, in a bad time then the genius really comes out,” Al Ghurair said.
Thinking outside the box
Al Ghurair said it was time to take a different approach to the challenges facing the Arab and Muslim world.
“Oil price, we have no influence where that should go. But, in every time, we should take the opportunity to (have) a positive impact on our society. For example, when the oil price goes up we should think this may not last forever. When the oil price come down it forces us to think outside the box and start looking at certain reforms… A lot of good things will come out for our countries here in the Arab world because of the reduction in the oil price,” he said.
Al Ghurair took the lead last year when his family announced it would donate a third of its wealth over the next decade to philanthropic initiatives and he has urged his fellow business leaders not to use the low oil price as an excuse not to follow his lead.
In October he announced plans to set up an Islamic philanthropy network at the Global Islamic Economy Summit in Dubai and called on other business leaders to help him build an ecosystem.
“While we have revolutionised our own business we have failed to bring this same bold approach to the immense challenges of poverty, ill health and social inequity,” Al Ghurair said during a keynote speech.
“We must shift from traditional charity to a new ecosystem with high impact philanthropy.”
First to jump in
Since he announced plans to formalise the process of giving money to those less fortunate, Al Ghurair said he has had a lot of positive feedback already from those looking to join him in the endeavour that focuses on three main principles – tangible impact, transparency and accountability, and innovative solutions.
“The idea of establishing a federation of modern philanthropy, I think it has (had) some positive feedback and we have already had some people who are encouraged who said ‘yes we will be the first to jump in’. It will take time but someone has to start this process and hopefully it will get government endorsement (and) government support of what we are doing.
“Traditionally, we say: what your right hand gives, your left hand should not know. That’s okay, but now we are going to do it with more impact,” he added.
Al Ghurair said education was an obvious choice. In April, his family launched the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, which aims to provide scholarships for 15,000 Middle Eastern students over the next 10 years.
“We had a choice as everything was possible but we thought education will give us the biggest impact on society. It is only through education that we can raise the level of living in our society. We can eliminate poverty through education and you can improve the health of people through education. So education is key,” he said.
His father, Abdulla Ahmad Al Ghurair, was also appointed by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Science Organization in March as its first goodwill ambassador for education in the Arab world.
With the establishment of the foundation and his plans to widen its impact with the setting up of the Islamic philanthropy network, he is certainly taking the initiative and positioning himself to be that role model for the future and as the inspiration for other to follow.
“We need a role model. Somebody who (can) become a role model for the modern way of doing philanthropy. And that is exactly what we are trying to do.”
© Zawya 2016
By Shane McGinley
The slowdown in economic growth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is only just beginning, but the challenging business environment ahead has not deterred those in the region from pursuing philanthropic initiatives, Emirati business leader Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair told Zawya in an interview.
Al Ghurair, who is the CEO of Dubai-based lender Mashreq bank and the chairman of the UAE Banks Federation, said the new reality of low oil prices should spur executives around the region to think of new ways to improve the life of people and not just of their businesses.
“We are at the beginning of a slowdown, 2016 is the beginning. It started in 2015 but we had resisted and the impact was felt this year, some impact will be felt next year and that is the beginning of the cycle,” he told Zawya in an interview in late October.
“When the economy slows down we also adjust ourselves so we have agile and nimble and be able to adjust ourselves to the temperature outside. It is good discipline to have this bump in the road once in a while.”
He is personally advocating the establishment of an Islamic philanthropy network to develop “a homegrown approach” to the challenges faced by Arab and Muslim citizens, including unemployment, poverty and lack of access to high quality education and health services.
Governments in the Gulf Arab region and wider Middle East have stepped up efforts to diversify sources of revenue and introduce economic and social reform following the sharp drop in crude oil prices over the last two years that have hit state revenues and led to cuts in spending, including on generous subsidies programmes. The International Monetary Fund in April revised the UAE’s 2016 growth outlook to a more moderate 2.4 percent, down from the 3.9 percent recorded in 2015.
“In the past, we had the luxury of going wrong, because it doesn’t matter, I can absorb going wrong. I think people think smarter now than three years ago. During a difficult time great ideas come. In a great time everybody is a genius, in a bad time then the genius really comes out,” Al Ghurair said.
Thinking outside the box
Al Ghurair said it was time to take a different approach to the challenges facing the Arab and Muslim world.
“Oil price, we have no influence where that should go. But, in every time, we should take the opportunity to (have) a positive impact on our society. For example, when the oil price goes up we should think this may not last forever. When the oil price come down it forces us to think outside the box and start looking at certain reforms… A lot of good things will come out for our countries here in the Arab world because of the reduction in the oil price,” he said.
Al Ghurair took the lead last year when his family announced it would donate a third of its wealth over the next decade to philanthropic initiatives and he has urged his fellow business leaders not to use the low oil price as an excuse not to follow his lead.
In October he announced plans to set up an Islamic philanthropy network at the Global Islamic Economy Summit in Dubai and called on other business leaders to help him build an ecosystem.
“While we have revolutionised our own business we have failed to bring this same bold approach to the immense challenges of poverty, ill health and social inequity,” Al Ghurair said during a keynote speech.
“We must shift from traditional charity to a new ecosystem with high impact philanthropy.”
First to jump in
Since he announced plans to formalise the process of giving money to those less fortunate, Al Ghurair said he has had a lot of positive feedback already from those looking to join him in the endeavour that focuses on three main principles – tangible impact, transparency and accountability, and innovative solutions.
“The idea of establishing a federation of modern philanthropy, I think it has (had) some positive feedback and we have already had some people who are encouraged who said ‘yes we will be the first to jump in’. It will take time but someone has to start this process and hopefully it will get government endorsement (and) government support of what we are doing.
“Traditionally, we say: what your right hand gives, your left hand should not know. That’s okay, but now we are going to do it with more impact,” he added.
Al Ghurair said education was an obvious choice. In April, his family launched the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, which aims to provide scholarships for 15,000 Middle Eastern students over the next 10 years.
“We had a choice as everything was possible but we thought education will give us the biggest impact on society. It is only through education that we can raise the level of living in our society. We can eliminate poverty through education and you can improve the health of people through education. So education is key,” he said.
His father, Abdulla Ahmad Al Ghurair, was also appointed by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Science Organization in March as its first goodwill ambassador for education in the Arab world.
With the establishment of the foundation and his plans to widen its impact with the setting up of the Islamic philanthropy network, he is certainly taking the initiative and positioning himself to be that role model for the future and as the inspiration for other to follow.
“We need a role model. Somebody who (can) become a role model for the modern way of doing philanthropy. And that is exactly what we are trying to do.”
© Zawya 2016
