Imagine if funding and donating to an NGO or a cause anywhere in the world was as easy as ordering on Amazon. With today’s technology and integration of information, and a little bit of work filling in the gaps, this is doable.
Philanthropy has seen many efforts through initiatives such as, for example, the Giving Pledge, a commitment by ultra-high-net-worth individuals to donate the majority of their wealth, to reach donors and expand giving. While these efforts are essential, more is needed to reach smaller classes of donor and to help them connect with credible causes that match their interests easily.
With the Covid-19 crisis revealing deep structural and social inequalities across the globe, philanthropy and philanthropic dollars need to be optimised to help mitigate the urgent health, economic, social and fiscal impact of the pandemic. A collective humanitarian response that can make targeted giving easier for large donors while harnessing the power of smaller, informed donors is now more critical than ever.
There is a way to achieve this, through the development of a cloud-based philanthropic platform that utilises artificial intelligence to amalgamate credible data on global needs and global giving into easily accessible and comprehensible information that donors can act upon. Such a platform could allow donors to filter their searches on location, themes, organisation size and charity ratings, as well as funding gaps.
Where policy responses fall short and gaps in the allocation of urgent funding exist, an AI-centred philanthropy data platform could allow donors to respond to economic and social challenges based on reliable, real-time global data and analysis.
AI technology is already used as a tool to advance efficiency and growth in businesses. Companies like Netflix and Amazon use AI recommendations to match offers to individual preferences and purchases and to inform content development, optimising their profits.
Similar technology, albeit for the purpose of global common good could be used to ensure that supply of philanthropic donations meets the demand for support while improving transparency and accountability. AI in the form of a recommendation engine could, for example, match donor criteria from themes to locations to ratings and NGO partners with causes via the philanthropic platform.
A 2018 report on private philanthropy by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that only 28 per cent of funding benefitted the least developed countries. The data shows that private development financing is largely bypassing the most vulnerable. Moreover, financing often misses the actual needs of local communities, as funding is likely to be allocated without the weigh-in and participation of local charity or NGO staff. By logging onto an online platform, philanthropists and individual donors could see where giving is capped or in excess, enabling them to invest where they care while matching needs on the ground and maximising the impact of their investments.
AI technology is already used as a tool to advance efficiency and growth in businesses
Data and analysis made available through AI recommendations could also fill gaps in available information needed to inspire potential investors. It could also provide a feedback loop for NGOs on what they can do to improve their standing. In addition, philanthropists and individual donors could use AI recommendations to give directly to causes that they care about, reducing reliance on intermediary organisations to distribute funds. That would allow for more opportunities to directly engage with beneficiaries.
Implementing AI to optimise giving within the philanthropic sector is not a new idea. NGOs and campaigns around the world are already using it to enhance the impact of their activities. Examples include platforms like Philanthropy.ai and organisations like WaterAid, which use AI recommendations to connect donors with beneficiaries and causes around their respective work.
While these efforts demonstrate the benefits of AI for specific philanthropic activities, a cross-sector, collaborative approach is needed to fully harness the benefits of AI beyond individual causes and for the sector as a whole. An AI-centred, cloud-based platform has the potential to address this need by engaging stakeholders invested in philanthropy across sectors in an unprecedented, real-time mapping of the philanthropic landscape.
Such a platform could also expand the pool of available data, and help to ensure that new philanthropic investments build on existing successful interventions by securing the buy-in and input of stakeholders across sectors. Qualitative data made available on the platform could also serve as a valuable resource for campaigns like the Giving Pledge and inter-governmental partners like the OECD, providing them with lessons to direct their interventions and greater visibility to promote their activities.
Finally, the platform itself could allow a virtual space for philanthropists, individual donors, NGOs, intergovernmental organisations and other partners to connect, exchange lessons and explore collaboration and co-funding opportunities to strategically drive investments and direct support where needed.
A joint effort and long-term commitment from a broad range of members of the philanthropic community is needed to develop a platform like this, and to provide the inputs that AI could use. It will require the leadership of a credible international organisation, the collaboration of tech companies and input from local and international NGOs and inter-governmental organisations.
Following the development phase, vetted local chambers of commerce, foundations, local NGOs and bilateral organisations would need to collect data on philanthropic support and feed the data to the AI in an organised way, such as through the use of tags.
Of course, there are drawbacks to using AI technology and challenges that should be mitigated during the development and implementation phases. Nonetheless, with the scale and complexity of humanitarian crises growing and the primary and secondary impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic looming, AI has the potential to empower philanthropists and individual donors while strengthening the world of giving to meet the challenges ahead.
Muna AbuSulayman is a Saudi businesswoman and leader in philanthropy, development and social impact solutions
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Aahid Al Khalediah II, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Whistle, Harry Bentley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup - Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Alsaied, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Mumayaza, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
8pm: President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Medahim, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Fixtures (all times UAE)
Saturday
Brescia v Atalanta (6pm)
Genoa v Torino (9pm)
Fiorentina v Lecce (11.45pm)
Sunday
Juventus v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Inter Milan v SPAL (6pm)
Lazio v Udinese (6pm)
Parma v AC Milan (6pm)
Napoli v Bologna (9pm)
Verona v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Monday
Cagliari v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
The five pillars of Islam
FIXTURES
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
The years Ramadan fell in May
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Austria 2
Hinteregger (53'), Schopf (69')
Germany 1
Ozil (11')
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
