PHILANTHROPY
MERGING INTERESTS Myrna Atalla runs the first venture philanthropy organisation in the Arab world BY FINBARR TOESLAND
“I’ve been geared towards social justice my entire life,” she yrna Atalla has seen first-hand how innovative says. “I grew up in the United States, but I’m of Lebanese charitable giving is transforming lives in some of the Middle East’s most underserved communities. descent and I eventually moved to Beirut in 2004.” While in As executive director of Alfanar, the first venture philanthropy the Lebanese capital, Atalla worked for a non-profit focused on organisation working exclusively in the Arab region, Atalla election monitoring and civil development initiatives and soon focuses on projects that provide opportunities to disadvantaged discovered that Western governments fund a great number of developmental projects in the region. women and children. Along the way, Atalla has spread the message of venture “I found that many of these programmes were not financially philanthropy, which at its core applies sustainable and at some level it began to really frustrate me,” she says. “This the principles of venture capital really stuck in my mind.” (primarily long-term investment and tailored support) to philanthropic She went on to pursue a dualYounger givers are doing a master’s in public administration at giving. lot of research on projects “Since Alfanar started in 2004, LSE and Columbia, where she focused there really has been a concerted her attention on the intersection they invest in and want to effort across the continents to bring between social impact and financial know exactly where their together organisations that believe in sustainability, which eventually and support market-based solutions to brought her to social enterprise. money is going social issues,” says Atalla. “Many family A chance encounter with an Alfanar foundations are taking interest because trustee led to her current role, but it was they know what these solutions mean not a quick process. “Nine interviews to family businesses and want to apply later I was given the opportunity to that same rigour to their charitable giving. It’s such a comfortable become the executive director of Alfanar, which back then place for them to operate.” only operated in Egypt,” she says. “I was brought on to lead From investing in the Bedayaat Foundation, which teaches expansion and to build on the Egyptian experience and go street children to read and write in the Egyptian city of Minya, forward. Then the Arab Spring happened.” Although the turmoil that followed the uprisings changed to giving Syrian refugees in Lebanon jobs in the online economy Atalla’s short-term plans, Alfanar has grown to 10 employees through the funding of start-up Natakallam, Atalla is helping with offices in Cairo and London, and actively operates with turn social enterprises into financially viable organisations. For eight investments in Egypt and six investments in Lebanon. Atalla, this is far from a new passion.
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SUMMER / 2017