The next generation

More than 80 years since its formation, the Juffali Group founded by Ahmed and his two brothers continues to play an instrumental role at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s thriving economy.

This flourishing conglomerate can attribute its success to the strategy envisioned by Ahmed and his brothers all those years ago. That of seeking to broaden markets through multinational partnerships (including IBM, Siemens, Ericsson, Mercedes, and Michelin), all while prioritising the training and development of the Kingdom’s youth.

It is a strategy that is faithfully followed today by the company’s Chairman, Khaled Juffali. And Khaled hasn’t only inherited a head for business. Just like his parents, he is passionate about humanitarian causes and ways in which to improve wider society.

Following in the footsteps of his mother and father, in 2013 Khaled and his wife Olfat launched the Shefa Fund, the first donor collaborative based in the Middle East. “Giving is easy, but giving well is an art,” outlines Olfat in an interview.

Key to its ambitions is the fund’s approach of pooling funds from multiple donors.. “[One person’s] philanthropy can be a drop in the ocean. and we wanted to maximise our impact. Our belief is: don’t give alone,” explains Khaled. “I’ve always felt that collaboration with the right people gives you a better result than going it alone. And in this case, I really think it has.” He adds: “One hand alone cannot clap, you need two.”

The Shefa Fund represents a bold new approach to Arab philanthropy. It is the first donor collaborative based in the Middle East to foster collaboration between regional philanthropists and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Launched in 2013, the Shefa Fund came to be following a conversation between Khaled and Olfat Juffali and Bill Gates. Together, the Juffalis created the vision for the Shefa Fund and have encouraged collaboration with like-minded philanthropists - within their family as well as their wider network - who are interested in improving the lives of those most in need. It is currently being run as a UK-registered Donor Advised Fund (DAF).

Its core focus is making tangible progress on underfunded health issues in the region. Though much of the funding for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) comes from international aid agencies and local governments, a dramatic funding gap of US$200-300m remains, one the Shefa Fund has sought to fill.

“We wanted to focus on health problems such as polio and neglected tropical diseases because there are not many people who focus on them [in the region],” explains Olfat Juffali.

The Shefa Fund takes a highly strategic approach to its grantmaking, choosing investment areas where it can have a major impact, and it carefully defines what success looks like and how to achieve it. Its grants are substantial, with an average investment size of over US$1m and a duration - of up to four years - long enough to see results.

By pooling funds from different donors, the Shefa Fund delivers a multiplier effect. Participating donors make a minimum contribution of US$ 250,000 for a defined period, usually two years. Not only is the total amount invested greater, but the donors can learn together and benefit from shared expertise, rather than each having to find, vet, and manage their own philanthropic investments, risking overlap and inefficiencies.

Since its launch in 2013, the Shefa Fund has had more than 20 different donors and raised and deployed in excess of US$14m. Its investments - into combating diseases such as meningitis A, sleeping sickness, and cholera, and the Covid-19 pandemic; providing care for women and children; and supplying critical emergency relief to conflict zones - have positively impacted the lives of more than 16 million people in 17 countries

The Shefa Fund collaborates with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to identify and support high-impact programs aimed at improving the health of children, families, and communities in the Middle East and beyond. By fostering collaboration between philanthropists, the Shefa Fund has supported programmes that have positively impacted more than 16 million people to-date.

For Khaled and Olfat it is truly a family endeavour, as their daughters Dana and Haya are also involved. “We want to help the Shefa Fund stay innovative and relevant,” explains Haya. Dana - who is also a board member - adds: “Impact comes through scaling, collaboration, and partnerships. Shefa has saved many lives, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t potential for growth.”

Ahmed and Suad’s altruistic nature has clearly proven infectious, for Khaled and his family are not the only next generation Juffali to have followed suit. Before his death in 2006, Tarek Juffali donated millions of dollars to charities close to his heart. To commemorate his legacy, the family established the Tarek Ahmed Al Juffali Foundation, which assists individuals and organisations in offering aid such as food, housing, healthcare, and education. Among its various efforts, the foundation set up emergency mobile clinics in the West Bank of Jerusalem to furnish essential medical services to underserved and remote Palestinian communities.

In 2013, the family also established the Tarek Ahmed Juffali Research Chair in Red Sea Ecology at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Inspired by Tarek’s passion for oceanography, the position is dedicated to understanding the role of marine life in the functioning of the present and future Biosphere with a particular focus on marine ecosystems in the Red Sea, the ecology of their foundation species, and the response of marine biota to environmental drivers and human pressures.

Then there’s Walid, the eldest Juffali child, who - as well as taking over the running of the Juffali Group until his death in 2016 - had a particular interest in brain theory. He channelled much of his philanthropic efforts towards this field and, in 2013, established The Brain Forum. His goal was to create a platform that would foster progress in brain research by facilitating global collaboration and initiatives that had the potential to improve people's lives.

"Scientific exploration of the human brain is a fundamental tool for answering the challenges of the 21st century," explained the late Walid following the Forum's launch. "Putting together the discoveries of cutting-edge brain research is essential for everyone because it directly affects the future of society."

Suad and Ahmed's only daughter, Maha Juffali, runs the Help Center, where her Daniah, as a qualified psychologist specialising in intellectual disabilities, is the Centre's director of therapeutic departments.

Maha remembers how childhood experiences with her mother inspired the direction she would take. "Since I was young, the importance of philanthropy was instilled in me through accompanying my mother to charitable activities. Then, I volunteered to work with two children with intellectual disabilities."

“Learning from my mother and father, I had to teach it to my daughter. So I learnt from my mother that, okay, I'm going to take my daughter with me [to the Help Centre]. She used to come with me and be with the kids. She didn't know much. But, you know, it's, instilled in you since you were a little baby.”

Daniah confirmed that these experiences had the desired effect. “I have very fond memories of going to the centre,” she tells an audience at the MISK forum in 2022. “Similar to my grandmother, the kids that were around me were my friends. I didn't see any difference. Children rarely see a difference in the way they are and the way maybe an intellectually disabled child would be. So my journey really started at a year old when I would go for these site visits with my mother.”

She adds: “Philanthropy I think is embedded in me. My idea of being in the workforce has always been to give and naturally, I think that comes from the two of them. So my life path just took me there. I also studied psychology, but majored in severe special needs education because my passion has always been to work with the children. So that is where my life came full circle.”

Daniah explained that each family member brings something valuable to the table. "We all complete each other while bringing in new things to the centre. For example, my grandma started with pure psychology, my mom brought in more early child education then I brought in severe special needs education.”

She adds: “I work with the families and the children directly. I was very adamant that the parents did not know I was my mom’s daughter so I can prove that I am here on my own accord not because I am the boss’s daughter. I am lucky that I have a family that respects my work and allows me to express myself.

As for Suad, working with her daughter and granddaughter is a blessing, she says. "I think it’s a beautiful combination of family, seriousness, love and respect. It is out of a giving nature that we have started the centre, as father and mother, and that continues to be there throughout with my daughter and granddaughter."