Muna Al Gurg has become the latest Emirati to join the prestigious Giving Pledge, a campaign instigated by US philanthropists Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Melinda French Gates to encourage wealthy people to give away the majority of their fortunes to charity.
The vice-chair and director of retail at Dubai’s Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, Muna has long been active in her family’s Al Gurg Charitable Foundation. Last year, she launched her own philanthropic initiative, Meem Foundation, to bridge gender gaps, create more economic opportunity, and greater access to both the workplace and health care for women and girls in the MENA region.
Meem Foundation supports a range of programmes including scholarships for women at the London Business School and it provides funding for Ureed.com to train women in the Northern Emirates in artificial intelligence and data annotation, in partnership with the UAE government.
“Our vision is a world where all women and girls can achieve their ambitions,” Muna said in an interview with Circle’s podcast Shaping Philanthropy. “Our goal is to find innovative, entrepreneurial approaches to address the unique challenges faced by women and girls in the region.”
“Every woman deserves dignity, independence, and the autonomy to shape her own path.”
Muna Al Gurg in conversation with Anissa Punjani on the Shaping Philanthropy podcast from Circle.
The Giving Pledge was founded in 2010 with 40 American philanthropists. Since then, it has grown rapidly to include 245 signatories from 30 countries.
Regional pledgers include: Crescent CEO and Pearl Initiative founder Badr Jafar and his wife, Razan Al Mubarak; VPS Healthcare founder Shamsheer and his wife Shabeena Vayalil; Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal; and the UAE-based entrepreneurs PNC Menon, of Sobha Realty, and Sunny Varkey, who founded Gems Education.
In her Giving Pledge letter, Muna stated: “It's an honour to be among the next generation of Emiratis to join the Giving Pledge, and I feel grateful to stand among remarkable individuals inspired to create lasting change.
“I have seen firsthand the challenges women in our region face, often due to social inequalities and limited awareness. Too many grow up believing there are no alternatives to the status quo, limited to roles and expectations imposed upon them… Every woman deserves dignity, independence, and the autonomy to shape her own path. Every woman deserves to recognise her potential.”
In addition to a role at the Al Gurg group, Muna has served on the boards of several organisations, including HSBC Bank Middle East Limited and the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development. She is also the founding board member of Endeavor UAE, a non-profit organisation promoting high-impact entrepreneurship in emerging markets, and an investor with Mindshift Capital, a gender-lens venture fund.
