- 14
- Episodes
- 1
- Ratings
- 2024
- First episode
About Shaping Philanthropy
Deep-dive conversations with philanthropists, CSR professionals, and nonprofit thought leaders from across the Arab region. Shaping Philanthropy is brought to you by Circle, a partnership between Philanthropy Age and Pearl Initiative, and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- Publisher
- Philanthropy Age
- Category
- business · business · society & culture
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 11 Feb 2024
- Latest episode
- 24 Nov 2025
Latest episodes
14 episodes in the feed.
24 Nov 2025
Geetha Murali on the ripple effect of education
Room to Read is a global nonprofit working to address educational, gender and economic inequities affecting children around the world. Since its launch in 2000, the NGO has deployed almost US$1bn to deliver foundational learning to more than 52 million children, including thousands across Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine. Its literacy pillar comprises teacher training, the publishing of local language books, and the development of school and community libraries. And through its Girls Education ...
30 Sept 2025
Nafez Dakkak on MENA’s first impact investment fund
In this special live recording of the Shaping Philanthropy podcast, Nafez Dakkak, shares the story behind launching Anara Impact Capital, a groundbreaking US$50 million fund to support startups across MENA focused on learning, climate, and well-being. Anchored by Alfanar Venture Philanthropy, Anara is the first regionally-backed impact investment fund of its kind. The episode opens with a personal reflection on growing up in occupied Palestine and Dakkak’s decision to pivot from n...
27 Aug 2025
Yousuf Caires on the triple bottom line
Yousuf Caires is the executive director of Expo City Dubai Foundation, a new nonprofit organisation established by Expo City Dubai Authority to take forward the legacy of the Expo Live programme. In this episode of Shaping Philanthropy, Yousuf talks about why Dubai is so committed to supporting social entrepreneurs and how the new foundation is giving UAE university graduates the chance to launch new ventures through its Changemakers Academy. “We are trying to create a new wave of grassroots ...
14 Jun 2025
Sunil Lalvani on finding a new North Star
Social entrepreneur Sunil Lalvani discusses his transition from electronics to founding Project Maji, which delivers sustainable, cost-effective water solutions across Africa, in this interview.
30 Apr 2025
Maria Ahlström-Bondestam on making change happen
"Money alone is not the solution to the challenges we have today. The solution is to get us to change how we how we act.” That is one of messages shared by Maria Ahlström-Bondestam, a fifth-gen Finnish philanthropist, during her interview on Shaping Philanthropy. Speaking down the line from Helsinki, Maria shares her family’s journey into philanthropy, explains the focus on women and girls, how she measures impact, and why she takes collaboration so seriously. A co-founder of the Eva Ah...
18 Mar 2025
How next-gens are using their wealth for impact
Nina Hoas and Silvia Bastante de Unverhau from LGT Philanthropy Advisory join Anissa Punjani to discuss their new research paper Wealth for impact: global perspectives from the next generations of wealth holders. This deep-dive study is based on interviews with more than 60 individuals from 30 different countries, aged between 18 to 77. It examines how wealth holders perceive privilege, responsibility, and personal values, and explores how this wealth is created, invested, spent, given, and t...
11 Dec 2024
Guy Cave
Guy Cave, President of the Legatum Foundation, shares insights on mobilizing US$100m to support grassroots humanitarian efforts in crisis zones through the Resilio Fund initiative.
2 Sept 2024
Nick Grono
Nick Grono, the CEO of The Freedom Fund, the world’s first private donor fund dedicated to tackling slavery around the world, joins Anissa Punjani for this episode of Shaping Philanthropy to talk about his new book on nonprofit leadership.Nick has had a long and rich career spanning the public, private and non-profit sectors. A corporate lawyer by training with a spell at an investment bank, Goldman Sachs, he has been chief of staff to the Australian attorney general, spent ten years at Inter...
25 Jul 2024
Fadi Ghandour
Send us a Text Message. (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2314119/open_sms) Fadi Ghandour is a leading Arab entrepreneur, philanthropist, and social activist. The founder of logistics company Aramex and start-up accelerator and investment platform Wamda, Fadi is also the brains behind Ruwwad (https://ruwwad.ngo), a pioneering nonprofit community development organisation engaging the private sector to work with disenfranchised communities in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine. In this wide-ranging interview, he outlines why he favours "entrepreneurial engagement" over "passive grant giving" and the importance of grassroots community engagement and platform building. UAE-based Fadi makes the case for long-term partnerships over box-ticking and explains why giving is about more than money. "Change takes a long time, nothing happens overnight. You need to be in it for the long-term, you cannot just hit and run," he says. "You start with trying. Don't be afraid of the errors. Take the first step. The errors are where you learn and then you pivot... that's that's the "can do" mentality." And he adds: "This is not about how much capital you have. This is about taking the initiative to go out and do… You don't need to solve the problems of the world with what you do, but solve a problem within your community, that's good enough." Fadi also talks to our host, Anissa Punjani, about the war in Gaza and the needs of people in the West Bank and he calls on regional donors and businesses to think urgently about the "day after" and how they can help rebuild Palestinian lives and businesses. Other topics covered in the interview include Fadi's optimism for the "new-gen" of regional philanthropists and the influence of his father, Ali Ghandour. Find out more about Fadi Ghandour and the work of Ruwwad at Circle (https://www.circlemena.org). Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
10 Jun 2024
Lynn Zovighian
Send us a Text Message. (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2314119/open_sms) A philanthropist, an entrepreneur, and a humanitarian diplomat, Lynn Zovighian wears many hats - and all of them passionately. In this wide-ranging interview for Circle (https://www.circlemena.org), Lynn joins us down the line from Beirut (where the internet connection is not totally stable) to tell us about her personal philanthropic journey and what drives her to work with crisis-affected communities in Lebanon, Iraq, and the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Armenia. Speaking to our host, Anissa Punjani, Lynn stresses the importance of community engagement, outlines why philanthropists need to work collaboratively with the people they are trying to help if they are to succeed, and calls on donors to relinquish their power. Lynn also digs into the details of "Grounded in tradition, looking to the future”, a first-of-its-kind data report exploring next-gen giving trends in the MENA region, produced by Lynn’s Zovighian Partnership (ZP), in partnership with the Pearl Initiative. One such trend was that when next-gen women are in positions on power in their family businesses and foundations, they are more like to support women and girls. But when men hold those positions, women and girls are not getting funding. The data also revealed that many next-gen donors are choosing to give independently of their family vehicles. “They are personalising their giving and bringing in an entrepreneurial drive to their giving,” Lynn explains. “This is very different to our more anecdotal and our more traditional understanding of philanthropy in the region.” As well as highlighting the findings from the report, Lynn makes the case for more support for research initiatives to create “grounded data” that can inform future giving and identify gaps in the philanthropic ecosystem. In a heartfelt message to philanthropists starting out on their giving journey, Lynn concludes by saying: “Whatever you do, it's going to make a difference… Do not be overwhelmed by the magnanimous nature of the causes that you are serving, because every little help counts. Do not believe that you can save the world, but believe and know that you can make a difference then focus on your areas of excellence.” Read Lynn's Circle article about the importance of data here (https://www.circlemena.org/resources/insights/getting-data-strategies-right/). For more about the ZP / Pearl Initiative research report, click here (https://www.circlemena.org/updates/event-report-next-gen-research-launch/%20). Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
24 Apr 2024
Clare Woodcraft: reimagining philanthropy in the Global South
How did Covid-19 change philanthropy in the Global South? Reimagining philanthropy in the Global South: from analysis to action in a post-Covid world is a new book that tackles this very question. Join one of its editors, Clare Woodcraft, to find out more about the lessons learned, and how global south philanthropists are rewriting the giving playbook. "We wanted to contribute to the new discourse around shifting the power balance from the Global North to the Global South and give an opportunity not just for us as researchers, academics to talk about it, but also for practitioners to talk about it," Clare explains to our host, Anissa Punjani. Clare, a former CEO of Emirates Foundation, and until recently the executive director of the centre for Strategic Philanthropy at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, also gives her views on the state of Arab philanthropy, and the exciting developments she's seeing in the region, from innovative next gen strategies, to new partnerships and collaborations. Reimagining philanthropy in the Global South: from analysis to action in a post-Covid world (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/reimagining-philanthropy-in-the-global-south/892D6D9A346C1670F2B28B95F6198607#), edited by Clare Woodcraft, Kamal Munir, and Nitya Mohan Khemka, was published by Cambridge University Press in February 2024. Contributing authors include: Naina Subberwal Batra; Olivia Leland; Silvia Bastante de Unverhau; Natasha M. Matic; Maysa Jalbout; Katy Bullard; and Deval Sanghvi. Read Clare's piece for Circle about de-mystifying impact assessment here (https://www.circlemena.org/resources/insights/why-we-need-to-de-mystify-impact-assessment/). Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
24 Apr 2024
Clare Woodcraft
Send us a Text Message. (https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2314119/open_sms) How did Covid-19 change philanthropy in the Global South? Reimagining philanthropy in the Global South: from analysis to action in a post-Covid world is a new book that tackles this very question. Join one of its editors, Clare Woodcraft, to find out more about the lessons learned, and how global south philanthropists are rewriting the giving playbook. "We wanted to contribute to the new discourse around shifting the power balance from the Global North to the Global South and give an opportunity not just for us as researchers, academics to talk about it, but also for practitioners to talk about it," Clare explains to our host, Anissa Punjani. Clare, a former CEO of Emirates Foundation, and until recently the executive director of the centre for Strategic Philanthropy at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, also gives her views on the state of Arab philanthropy, and the exciting developments she's seeing in the region, from innovative next gen strategies, to new partnerships and collaborations. Reimagining philanthropy in the Global South: from analysis to action in a post-Covid world (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/reimagining-philanthropy-in-the-global-south/892D6D9A346C1670F2B28B95F6198607#), edited by Clare Woodcraft, Kamal Munir, and Nitya Mohan Khemka, was published by Cambridge University Press in February 2024. Contributing authors include: Naina Subberwal Batra; Olivia Leland; Silvia Bastante de Unverhau; Natasha M. Matic; Maysa Jalbout; Katy Bullard; and Deval Sanghvi. Read Clare's piece for Circle about de-mystifying impact assessment here (https://www.circlemena.org/resources/insights/why-we-need-to-de-mystify-impact-assessment/). Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
20 Mar 2024
Muna Al Gurg
Muna Al Gurg has blazed a trail for Emirati women in both philanthropy and business. The vice chair and director of retail at the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, Muna plays a leading role in her family’s Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charitable Foundation and earlier this year, she launched her own philanthropic initiative. Meem Foundation aims to bridge gender gaps, creating more economic opportunity and better access to both the workplace and health care for women and girls in the MENA region. In this interview, one of her first since launching Meem, Muna shares details about her scholarships for women at the London Business School, funding for Ureed.com to train women in the Northern Emirates in artificial intelligence and data annotation, and her support for a maternity hospital in the West Bank. “Our vision is a world where all women and girls can achieve their ambitions,” Muna tells our host, Anissa Punjani. “Our goal is to find innovative, entrepreneurial approaches to address the unique challenges faced by women and girls in the region.” Research – and funding for research – will be central to Meem’s work. Referring to a 2022 IMF study, Muna points out that while global investment into R&D has increased, in MENA its percentage of GDP is falling below global averages. “With a young and fast growing population, this is the greatest risk the region faces today,” she says. “At Meem Foundation, we are looking for investments into MENA ideas that are relevant to the region and therefore also investing in their intellectual property.” During the wide-ranging interview, Muna also reflects on how her late father, Easa Saleh Al Gurg, has influenced her giving, recalling how he would return from overseas trips and share albums with the family showing them pictures of his charity work. Muna, who is also a founding board member of Endeavour UAE and an investor with Mindshift Capital, a gender-lens venture fund, and sits on various other charitable boards, cites her key values as: integrity; courage; personal growth; and innovation. Sharing learnings from along her philanthropic journey, Muna reflects on the importance of listening to beneficiaries. “One of the biggest lessons that I've learnt over the years is that it’s really important to understand what beneficiaries need rather than dictate to them what they need,” she says. “Once you come to that understanding, and you're calm in your listening and getting that data out of them, you can create the best programmes and create the best impact.” Muna also underlines the importance of sustainability and explains why philanthropy isn’t just about writing a cheque but rather seeing a project through its lifetime to ensure lasting impact. Find out more about Meem Foundation here (https://www.meemfoundation.org). Discover more interviews like this at www.CircleMena.org (http://www.circlemena.org/) Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
11 Feb 2024
Trailer
Shaping Philanthropy is a new podcast from Circle (https://www.circlemena.org?utm_source=buzzsprout&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=circle_trailer) shining light on philanthropy and CSR in the Arab region and beyond. It is a new space to share ideas and inspiration for donors as they explore new pathways and strategies for effective giving. Produced by Philanthropy Age (https://www.philanthropyage.org?utm_source=buzzsprout&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=circle_trailer) and hosted by Anissa Punjani, the manager of the Governance in Philanthropy programme at Pearl Initiative, Shaping Philanthropy will give a platform to regional philanthropists, CSR professionals, and nonprofit thought leaders. Join us for deep-dive conversations where we unpack the meaning of philanthropy and discuss practical steps for better giving and achieving deeper impact. Shaping Philanthropy is a must-listen for anyone interested in learning more about philanthropy in the Arab region and / or those looking to shape their own giving strategies. Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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- Spotify
- 5.0 / 5
- 1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 23 / 100
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- Quality
- 22
- Social presence
- 0
- YouTube
- 0
- Engagement
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