A raft of funding commitments from government and philanthropic bodies has accompanied the start of a major gathering of philanthropy and impact investors in Abu Dhabi.

The announcements at AVPN Global – a network that brings together philanthropic and impact investors from across Asia and beyond – included commitments from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, global health programmes driven by the philanthropy of the UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and a substantial boost to the endowment of UAE’s Species Conservation Fund.

New funding includes:

• $50 million to the Lives and Livelihoods Fund, a development initiative run by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to support Islamic Development Bank member countries in building sustainable pathways out of poverty
• $15 million to the Abu Dhabi-based Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) to tackle infectious diseases driven by Reaching the Last Mile, the philanthropy of UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• $40 million to the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund.

Speaking on the opening day, Razan Al Mubarak, Managing Director and UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28 called for more urgency in the fight against climate change. She hailed the ‘UAE consensus’ to transition from fossil fuels and put nature at the heart of climate solutions. The funding for the Species Conservation Fund will increase the fund’s endowment to more than $70 million by 2028.

AVPN Global’s ‘One Asia One Future’ conference has seen record number of registrants: 1,500 people from 44 countries, a major advance from the 200 attendees who gathered in Singapore for the first gathering eleven years ago.

Held for the first time in the Gulf region – dubbed ‘west Asia’ by the organisers – the gathering has seen a mix of private philanthropy, government ministers and officials and NGO’s. A pact between the UAE and Indonesia to reduce plastic pollution in rivers underscored both south-south cooperation and the increasing proximity of government and philanthropic elites. Abu Dhabi based nonprofit Clean Rivers, set up in 2023, is tasked with spending an initial $20 million as the implementing partner

The UAE has established a new International Humanitarian and Philanthropic Council in January 2004. Opening the AVPN gathering, its Chairman, Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said: ‘The UAE and Abu Dhabi’s leadership within global development and philanthropy demonstrates our commitment to advancing the humanitarian agenda to uplift vulnerable communities around the world.’

Naina Subberwal Batra, CEO of AVPN, said: ‘The presence of prolific and influential social impact world leaders at the opening day of the AVPN Global Conference underscored the importance of collaboration and shared values in our social impact’.