Fadi Ghandour

Shaping Philanthropy

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, 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.

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Circle is a partnership between Philanthropy Age and the Pearl Initiative. It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.