Our article on the role of banks in the provision of philanthropy advice in the September 2016 issue concluded that asking for and giving advice was, overall, a growing phenomenon. In taking a bird’s-eye view, though, it’s easy to miss the particulars. The US and Europe can exercise a distorting influence. So, in this analysis, we look at some of the places where the philanthropy ‘market’, for want of a better term, is less highly developed. How fast is the demand for philanthropy advice growing – if, indeed, it is? Who is asking for it and who is providing it?

Alliance sought views on these questions from experts in south and south-east Asia, southern Africa and the Middle East. While none of them pretended that their judgments were irrefutable, all raise important questions for the field.

Not yet an industry

Generally speaking, advisers remain few in the regions our respondents represent. In the Middle East and North Africa, there are only ‘banks, lawyers and SAANED since 2011’, says Atallah Kuttab of SAANED. He also notes ‘a few informal channels that provide advice to each other.’