Seizing the opportunity

The global development landscape is undergoing a profound shift, marked by the retreat of traditional Western aid and the emergence of new philanthropic actors. Once peripheral to mainstream global development discourse, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are now positioned to assert leadership through philanthropic models rooted in local ethics and South–South solidarity.

A growing number of GCC foundations (both private and state-affiliated) are engaging in transnational activities that closely resemble Official Development Assistance (ODA) or foreign aid.

When sovereign-backed entities such as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre or the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives operate across borders, they often serve as instruments of soft power. The emerging term ‘philanthro-diplomacy’ reflects this hybrid role.

GCC nations have also significantly expanded their official development assistance portfolios. From 2019 to 2022 the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait collectively contributed USD$28.9bn in ODA, with ODA-to-GNI ratios surpassing those of the US and the EU.

And, from 2010 to 2021, GCC states accounted for an average of 7.5 percent of global humanitarian funding, peaking at over 16 percent in 2018.

These figures highlight not only increasing financial commitments, but a prominent shift in geopolitical positioning.

GCC foundations are demonstrating alignment with global development priorities, with much of their philanthropic funding directed towards the education, health, and humanitarian sectors, areas traditionally championed by donors such as USAID.

These efforts are often driven by royal and government-affiliated philanthropic institutions, such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, the Qatar Foundation, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief centre, and Alwaleed Philanthropies.

GCC countries have an opportunity to redefine the architecture of global development by advancing approaches that are partnership based, locally anchored rather than externally imposed, and deeply attuned to the shared aspirations of the Global South.

As GCC countries expand their role in global development, there is a parallel opportunity to strengthen and mature their domestic philanthropic ecosystems.

While the region has made important progress, the philanthropic landscape remains in a formative stage, characterised by regulatory complexity, limited institutional infrastructure and a lack of incentives for private sector engagement.

Additionally, the GCC’s third sector faces a talent shortage that limits innovation in philanthropic practises.

Many nonprofit organisations continue to navigate operational challenges, including fragmented legal frameworks and a lack of dedicated mechanisms to enable long-term growth. Strategic coordination is further constrained by the absence of centralised data systems, common performance metrics, and transparent platforms to guide giving.

As a result, philanthropy often defaults to informal channels such as zakat and personal giving. These approaches, while deeply embedded in cultural and religious tradition, sometimes lack integration with national planning or measurable strategic long-term outcomes.

Yet the untapped potential is considerable. Estimates place the region’s total philanthropic capital between $52bn and $258bn, where the lower range is based on a conservative application of the 2.5 percent zakat obligation to the GCC’s combined GDP of $2.1trn.

These figures likely understate the true scale, given the prevalence of undocumented giving among high-net-worth individuals and family enterprises.

Notably, family businesses, which in the UAE comprise 90 percent of the private sector, remain largely unstructured in their philanthropic activities.

A resilient philanthropic ecosystem also depends on improved transparency and data accessibility. To enable GCC philanthropy to play a transformative role in global devel-opment, particularly within a post-Western paradigm, GCC countries could implement number of comprehensive reforms across regulatory, institutional, and strategic dimensions.

These include:

1. Create a public registry of nonprofit organisations in the Gulf & institutionalise accountability. Establishing a unified digital registry at national levels of accredited nonprofit organisations (whether government affiliated or private) and conducting evidence-based research on sector performance would strengthen oversight and reduce duplication. Enforcing public disclosure of nonprofit expenditures, overheads, and monitoring and evaluation outcomes would help institutionalise accountability.
   
   
2. Integrate the third sector in national development plans. Recognising the third sector’s economic and social value by integrating it into national development plans would better acknowledge its contribution to GDP. Saudi Arabia, for instance, has ambitions to grow its third sector to 5 percent of GDP by 2030.
   
   
3. Incentivise private sector giving. Creating targeted incentives, such as tax benefits for corporate donors and clear partnership frameworks between government and philanthropic actors, would encourage deeper private sector engagement.
   
   
4. Strengthen cooperation with Global South partners. Enabling philanthropists to address structural challenges such as education, public health, and youth employment through co-investment mechanisms with Global South partners, including the Islamic Development Bank and regional philanthropic networks, would further embed GCC giving within broader South–South cooperation frameworks.
   
   
5. Foster an environment for nonprofit growth. Easing existing procedural requirements, such as complex registration processes, limitations on fundraising, or the need for high-level authorizations, could help foster a more enabling environment for nonprofit growth, while maintaining necessary oversight.
   
   
6. Invest in local talent in the philanthropy sector. Building dedicated leadership pipelines through fellowships, academic programmes, and university research hubs can help professionalize the sector and cultivate a new generation of philanthropic leaders.
   
   
7. Support regional social entrepreneurship. Supporting social entrepreneurs as a core pillar of philanthropy, particularly in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, holds promise for civic innovation and inclusive job creation.
   
   
8. Integrate innovative financing tools. Including innovative financing tools such as blended finance and impact investing can complement traditional giving models, while inclusive digital tools can broaden donor participation and community engagement.

Together, these measures can help position GCC philanthropy not only as a credible and strategic contributor to global development, but as a values-driven leader that offers a regionally grounded, globally relevant alternative to legacy aid frameworks.