Our Mission

Alfanar partners organisations in the Arab Region that are improving the lives and opportunities of their communities by taking enduring and entrepreneurial approaches to entrenched problems. All the organisations we support are committed to self-reliance and enterprise, finding diverse ways to generate income.

We do this by providing a combination of financial support, advice and expertise to:

• Start-up organisations, to enable them to develop and implement their ideas and
• More established organisations to enable them to develop new, innovative programmes with a social, and often a financial, return.

Our Development Approach

We believe that development solutions come from within. We work through local partners in a wide range of development sectors and establish a local presence to enable us to build the long-term partnerships required to effect change on the ground. We use a number of selection criteria when choosing partners that reflect our mission and the relationships we wish to establish. We are interested in supporting imaginative organisations and people, often early in the development of their ideas. We provide our partners with advice and link them to skills and expertise to enable them to build their organisations effectively. Our Principles underpin every aspect of our work.

Our Approach to Venture Philanthropy

We believe that offering and delivering a package of funding and non-funding support is essential to maximising our impact and support to our partners. The provision of expertise and advice complements and increases the effectiveness of the grants that we make. We build open, trusting partnerships which take time and effort on the ground to establish.

The Principles that Guide Our Work

A number of principles are integral to our approach and the relationships we build with all our stakeholders. They underpin all aspects of our work.

1. Local presence - we have established a local presence in Egypt, thereby working closely with local organisations, and building partnerships of mutual trust and respect.
2. Local expertise and support - we source local expertise and advice wherever possible for our partners, and support them to determine what assistance they need, and how it should be delivered.
3. Long term partnerships - our goal is long term; therefore we are committed to long term partnerships with all our various stakeholders.
4. Relationships of trust - we aim to build relationships of trust with all our partners (whether programme partners or supporters), based on integrity, reliability and openness. We review progress together and are prepared to revise our objectives and courses of action if this is in the best interests of the communities our partners serve. At the same time we make tough decisions about partnerships or objectives and communicate them honestly.
5. Belief in our partners - our work is about strengthening our partners and their governance and management arrangements, and supporting their vision and activities. We believe in their judgement, their knowledge of their communities and their ability to improve the lives and opportunities of those they serve. At the same time we make our own independent judgements, and communicate our views openly and honestly.
6. Accountability - we hold ourselves accountable to our stakeholders for the commitments we make, and we expect them to be accountable for the actions they plan. We demand much of ourselves and our partners.
7. Independence - We are not affiliated with the objectives of any government or commercial enterprise, and are open to ideas and approaches whatever their source. We aim to maintain that independence.

Registration Status

Alfanar is not affiliated to any government or to any commercial enterprise. Alfanar is a charity registered in England and Wales (charity number 1105048). We are registered in Egypt as a branch of the UK entity (permit number 67, 2007), albeit with our former name, Arab Learning Initiative, and have almost completed the name change process to Alfanar. Alfanar is registered as a 501 (c) (3) organisation in the United States and will register in other Arab countries as deemed necessary for its operations.