Insights

Press Release

April 24, 2016

Gulf Capital and Emirates Foundation Join hands for the Fifth consecutive year to support youth development in the UAE

Gulf Capital, one of the leading and most active alternative asset managers in the Middle East, has renewed and reaffirmed its partnership with Emirates Foundation, for the fifth consecutive year to support a variety of programmes focusing on the development of UAE youth. Emirates Foundation is the UAE national foundation established to facilitate public-private partnerships for empowering youth.  

Since the partnership began in 2011, Gulf Capital has continued to collaborate with Emirates Foundation in key focus areas that address youth development. This includes the Emirates Foundation’s Internship Portal, launched and funded by Gulf Capital. This powerful platform serves to connect Emirati talent with Internship opportunities in the private sector. It links employers from the private sector with thousands of talented UAE nationals seeking internships.

Dr. Karim El Solh, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Capital, said: “Gulf Capital is delighted to renew its partnership with Emirates Foundation. We encourage and support the Foundation’s vision, which coincides with ours. All of our social responsibility programmes focus on empowering the future generation with the right set of skills and knowledge that will help them cultivate an entrepreneurial spirit and build a better future for themselves and those around them. The Gulf Capital team is committed to use its expertise to train and engage with the young generation through the three pillars of its social responsibility programme: education, training and entrepreneurship.”

Mohanna Al Muhairi, Chief Operations Officer at the Emirates Foundation said: “With our nation’s shift towards a knowledge-based economy led by qualified UAE nationals, there is an increasing need to shift the employment of UAE nationals from the public to the private sector. It is through partnerships such as ours with Gulf Capital that we are able to provide youth with opportunities to venture into the job market. The Internship Portal, in particular, is an important platform that helps Emirati graduates familiarise themselves with private sector opportunities that are in sync with their career ambitions. Their internship training will expose them to new prospects and help them acquire core competencies necessary for effective leadership and career growth.”

Dr. Karim el Solh concluded: “The private sector plays an important role in improving employment prospects for Emirati youth, and the Internship Portal we launched with Emirates Foundation intends to offer Emiratis the opportunity to experience the private sector and encourage them to consider a career path in private companies. With more than 15,000 graduates entering the job market every year, the Internship Portal becomes a tool to increase the number of Emiratis contemplating a job in the private sector. Through the use of this portal, Gulf Capital and other private sector Emirates Foundation partners have already been successful in on-boarding many young Emiratis who will hopefully join one of the private companies following the completion of their internships.”

Gulf Capital’s work with government authorities and non-governmental organisations such as the Emirates Foundation aims at giving back to society and making a sustainable positive change. Gulf Capital believes that corporate governance and business sustainability are essential to its long-term goal of being a leader in alternative asset management in the region.