Abraaj Capital donates $10m to Gaza orphans education trust fund

Notes and media contacts

About Abraaj Capital:
Dubai-based Abraaj Capital is the largest private equity group outside Europe and North America, and invests in the growing Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region.

Since inception in 2002, it has raised about $7bn and distributed almost US$ 3 billion to investors. Abraaj believes Corporate Social Responsibility plays a vital role in the economic and social welfare of the region. It was the first private sector organisation in MENA to sign the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investments (UNPRI).

Abraaj has long funded its Community Partnership Programme with 5 per cent of the group's management fees, as well as employee donations, to support educational, medical and social needs of children in the MENASA region. More than 50 projects have been funded since 2007 including building schools and libraries in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and providing infant-heart surgery, and spinal health diagnosis and treatment in Palestine, among other vital medical services.

Abraaj employees also volunteer their time towards developing entrepreneurial and business skills among Middle Eastern youth, teaching in school classrooms with Injaz Al-Arab, the Middle East arm of Junior Achievement. Last year, the Abraaj Capital Art Prize was launched to promote development and awareness in art and culture in the MENASA region.

The annual Art Dubai, which Abraaj sponsors, is the region's biggest art fair and has grown into a magnet for a budding art and culture scene, building on the region's deep history of culture and civilisation. Abraaj Capital operates offices in five countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. More than 150 world-class professionals work at Abraaj from 27 different nationalities.

About the Welfare Association: The Welfare Association is a private foundation established in Geneva in 1983 to support Palestinian society in sustainable development.

As a leading Palestinian non-profit development foundation, the Welfare Association is dedicated to making "a distinguished contribution toward furthering the progress of the Palestinians, preserving their heritage and identity, supporting their living culture and building civil society." It has become better known in Palestine and the Arab region by its Arabic name, Ta'awoun, meaning 'cooperation'.

WA contributes to the improvement of the lives of over 1 million persons annually, particularly children and youth. Since its establishment, WA has disbursed more than $300m for more than 4,000 projects led by quality, demand-driven, and rights-based programming through grants to Palestinian non-governmental organizations, community institutions and charitable organizations in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Galilee, Jaffa, Akka, Nazareth and Naqab, as well as in refugee camps in Lebanon.

WA works by strengthening local organizations, and assisting them in improving their services to the community and in promoting Palestinian culture, heritage and identity.

For further information, please contact:
Jessica Karia / James Cordahi
Abraaj Capital
Tel: +971 4 506 4400
Fax: +971 4 506 4600

Nicholas Nesson / Ghaleb Zeidan
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-3355969
Fax: 971-4-3356080