Abu Dhabi: Philanthrocapitalism is a powerful force shaping our world as it touches on big issues, such as the accountability and responsibilities of the rich towards shaping the world community, said a leading economist.
“This phenomenon is behind the growth of mission-related and impact investing that could lever hundreds of billions of dollars of new financing for saving lives and improving livelihoods of hundreds of thousands,” Michael Green, a British economist and writer said in a lecture on Monday night at Majlis Mohammad Bin Zayed.
The lecture titled: “Daring to do good: The role of risk in philanthropy”, which was attended by General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Executive Council of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, a number of shaikhs,
Green mulled failure as the first step towards success, calling on businessmen and entrepreneurs to benefit from failure to reach success, saying that philanthropists may risk occasional failure while some view this as an opportunity to learn how to do things better.
“Failure is a great thing, because if you know you fail and you talk about failing then you can actually learn something, society can learn something. And if society can learn that something doesn’t work, that is as valuable sometimes as something that does work,” said Green.
He added that many famous philanthropists such as Ted Turner, Bill Gates, and Peter Theil had taken big risks when they helped to save people’s lives in some parts of the world and reshaped their lives.
“Taking big risks, which is philanthropic capital’s advantage compared to government, means embracing the possibility of failure. Yet too much communication by foundations and non-profits focuses on claiming successes. An honest debate about failure would help us all to learn lessons as well as change the culture of risk taking, how businesses add or subtract to social value via corporate social responsibility projects,” Green pointed out.
Ministers and other dignitaries as well as 400 guests touched upon the need to innovate in the community through philanthropic work.
“Charity is not simply giving money away. It is business. Philanthropists are social investors who have to use big business style strategies. For example, Bill Gates has promised his entire fortune to finding a cure for the diseases that kill millions of children in the poorest countries in the world. Therefore, we are now in the middle of a fundamental rethinking of this process,” said Green.
However, the main challenge facing charity is driving more efficient social innovation.
“Some communities resist charity though it is beneficial for the society. The governments have a big role to play in taking successful ideas pioneered by the private sector by philanthrocapitalists and scaling these notions up to a level where hundreds of millions of people benefit,” concluded Green.
