UAE’s leading homegrown creative agency Brand Capital recently partnered with CSR Al Ahli Group, which supports Arab youth and women through social entrepreneurship programs around the world. Brand Capital will support the social entrepreneurs with all their creative, media, digital, and design needs to help solve the Middle East’s most pressing social problems through innovative solutions.
Ahmed Samy, Founder of Tappeto, noticed the unique talent of women in a rural Egyptian village in creating rugs. Witnessing this and from a small warehouse in the village, Tappeto was born to support and empower women to showcase their work. 50+ women work at Tappeto today, which secure good living standards for families living in the village.
The CSR division of Al Ahli Group was founded in 2008 and aims to develop Arab and global youth by building their skills, widening their exposure, as well as fostering women empowerment. Through strategic partnerships with government and non-government organizations, the CSR division helps develop entrepreneurial skills and social enterprises to positively change lives and create the business leaders of tomorrow. In its 13 years of activity, it has expanded operations from UAE to 15 other countries from France to Palestine with a number of different initiatives including Global YouthForum, Women For Business, and Business 4 A Cause.
Brand Capital is a team of imaginative creatives who know a thing or two about bringing out the best brands. Groundbreaking design, meaningful communications, and tech-savvy -they provide a dedicated and tailored approach to meet the needs of every client. With a large portfolio of clients from the US to Saudi Arabia, BrandCapital is confident they have the platform to take their corporate social responsibility to the next level.
Commenting on this partnership, Dina Ibellini, Managing Partner of Brand Capital said: “At Brand Capital we’ve always tried to make a positive difference to the world around us by embracing innovation and being environmentally conscious. Our job extends beyond helping brands with their design and communications, and we must use our creative ideas for positive change to improve people’s lives”.
Thanks to their common ethos and creative energy, Brand Capital and CSR Al Ahli Group have created new opportunities in the UAE for Egyptian start-up social entrepreneurship, ‘Tappeto’, which empowers local communities through the economic inclusion and development of indigenous women. The likes of VIDA Hotels and Movenpick have already shown interest in supporting and showcasing Tappeto’s collection of rugs and kilims to promote the local Egyptian manufacturers.
Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find out what is not working and solve the problem themselves through innovation, practicality, and persuading societies to think differently.
Further social initiatives to come from CSR Al Ahli Group include ‘Jar Edu’ providing English lessons for children in Jordan through interactive learning and games, ‘Green Track’ aiming to reduce the waste problem and create more jobs in Lebanon, and ‘Food Blessed’ which won first place in the CSR In Action program in Lebanon – it is a hunger relief initiative run by volunteers with a passion to fight hunger in Lebanon.
