A new Centre for Strategic Philanthropy has been established at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School dedicated to examining strategic philanthropy within and from the world’s highest-growth markets, including the Middle East, Developing Asia, and Africa, at a time when philanthropy’s role in building social and environmental resilience is seen as increasingly essential. 

 

Through a combination of rigorous research, executive education and the convening of diverse stakeholders, the Centre aims to become the leading hub of actionable knowledge to catalyse even greater philanthropic impact from the world’s fastest growing regions. 

 

It will also work with relevant institutions and practitioners in these regions in order to encourage collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and insights.

 

The Centre, whose founding patron is Emirati businessman Badr Jafar, is being launched in the midst of a fourth wave of globalization that is resulting in a reallocation of economic power southward and eastward. 

 

Last year, the top 30 fastest growing economies in the world were all in emerging markets. It is estimated that many trillions of dollars will be passed on from one generation to the next in these regions over the next 10 years, with close to $2 trillion wealth transfer by 2030 within Asia alone. 

 

According to a 2018 report by the Harvard Kennedy School, over the past 15 years, there has been a marked growth in institutional, organized philanthropy in the UAE. 

 

And the historic period of new wealth creation and intergenerational wealth transfer is expected to lead to a significant increase in philanthropic activity both within and from the UAE and other fast-growing economies, it added.

 

Founding patron Jafar said: "Today, well over a trillion dollars of private philanthropic capital, more than triple the annual global development and humanitarian aid budgets combined, is deployed every single year. The evidence is also overwhelming that the world’s other emerging economies are becoming an increasingly powerful source of philanthropic capital and social innovation."

 

With the impending generational transition taking place around the world, it is crucial to properly understand the diverse approaches to philanthropy that exist in these markets, and the local and regional factors that have shaped them, noted Jafar. 

 

"Transparency, technology and evolving attitudes toward wealth are reshaping donors' approaches to giving worldwide. We will likely fail to address the myriad of challenges on the global agenda over the next decade without making a much greater effort to connect, exchange ideas and partner with strategic philanthropists from the world’s fastest growing regions," he added.