Alfanar

Charity Number: 1105048

Annual Expenditure: £0.7M

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Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: £711,720 (2024 grants only; plus £785,830 in technical support)
  • Success Rate: Data not publicly available
  • Decision Time: Varies by programme (3-6 months typical for application cycles)
  • Grant Range: Seed £15,000 - Sustain £250,000+ over 3-5 years
  • Geographic Focus: Arab region only (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine)

Contact Details

Website: www.alfanar.org.uk

Email: info@alfanar.org.uk

Phone: 0753 408 8175

Office Locations: UK (headquarters), Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon

Pre-Application Support: Contact via website or email to discuss eligibility

Overview

Founded in 2004 by investment banker Tarek Ben Halim, Alfanar (meaning “lighthouse” in Arabic) is the Arab region's first venture philanthropy organisation. The UK-registered charity (1105048) has disbursed £7.9 million in tailored funding since inception, enabling social enterprises to self-generate £18 million in revenue. Alfanar's distinctive model combines grants and zero-interest loans with intensive management support, helping growth-stage social enterprises in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine achieve financial sustainability while scaling their impact. The organisation focuses on children's education, youth employment, women's economic empowerment, and environmental resilience, with gender as a cross-cutting priority. In 2024, Alfanar supported 39 social enterprises with combined grants and technical support totaling £1.5 million. The organisation was shortlisted for the Charity Awards 2025, with judges praising its “absolutely brilliant development practice.”

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Alfanar operates an investment cycle with four distinct stages:

  • SEED: Accelerated training programme (approximately 6 months) providing grants around £15,000-20,000, customized management support workshops, and group training for early-stage social enterprises with proven minimum viable products
  • SUSTAIN: The core programme offering adaptable, patient capital spanning 3-5 years (often £250,000+), dedicated portfolio manager support, and impact management systems for growth-stage organizations
  • SCALE: Long-term support (5+ years) providing debt and equity impact investment for mature social enterprises ready for significant expansion, including social franchising support
  • SPREAD: Technical assistance, network access, and post-exit support including zero-interest loans to prevent funding gaps

Application Methods: Varies by programme; some operate as open calls with fixed deadlines, others through rolling nominations or invitations

Priority Areas

Thematic Focus (aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals):

  • Children's education and learning outcomes
  • Youth employment and economic opportunities
  • Women's economic empowerment
  • Environmental resilience and sustainability
  • Refugee and disadvantaged community support

Organizational Characteristics Sought:

  • Legally registered social enterprises operating for at least one year
  • Revenue-generating model demonstrating path to financial sustainability (currently recovering minimum 30-40% of costs through earned income)
  • Strong leadership team open to receiving management support
  • Clear, measurable social and/or environmental impact
  • Scalability potential within and beyond initial geography
  • Commitment to serving disadvantaged communities

Geographic Requirements: Organizations must operate in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, or Palestine. UK organizations are not eligible.

What They Don't Fund

  • Traditional NGOs or charities relying solely on donations without revenue-generating activities
  • Very early-stage startups without a minimum viable product or proven sales to clients
  • Fully mature, well-established organizations past the growth stage
  • Organizations outside the Arab region focus countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine)
  • Projects without clear social/environmental impact on disadvantaged communities
  • Organizations not open to intensive management support and capacity building
  • Individual projects rather than organizational development
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Governance and Leadership

Leadership Team

Executive Director: Safia Tmiri (succeeding Myrna Atalla in 2024)

Key Staff:

  • Ahmed El Nabarawi - Finance and Investment Manager
  • Heba Samy - Impact Officer
  • Shenouda Bissada - Egypt Country Director
  • Jan Habib - Head of Finance

Founder: Tarek Ben Halim (1955-2009), former Goldman Sachs managing director who left investment banking to establish Alfanar in 2004

Governance

The charity is governed by a Board of Trustees who receive no remuneration. The organization maintains offices across Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom, with teams distributed across these locations.

Leadership Insights

Myrna Atalla (former Executive Director) on what Alfanar seeks:

“We are trying to track whether they understand their objectives, are structured around impact, have demonstrated the potential of their model, [and] are capable of generating revenue reliably.”

On the importance of management support:

“Tarek knew that funding is necessary but not sufficient for change. The real glue to venture philanthropy is active management support.”

On long-term commitment:

"People keep saying to these organizations 'Think bold, think long term.' But if they don't know somebody is going to back them, how are they to do that?"

On key selection criteria:

"A number of factors are tested, including the organization's commitment to serving disadvantaged communities, a revenue model that ensures its sustainability, a desire to grow, and a strong leadership team. Importantly, Alfanar also tests the organization's openness to receiving management support."

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

Alfanar operates different application processes depending on the programme:

  • Seed Programme: Open calls for applications with published deadlines (typically several months' notice)
  • Sustain Programme: Combination of open applications and strategic sourcing/nominations
  • Scale/Spread: Typically by invitation or progression from previous programmes

Interested organizations should contact Alfanar via their website (www.alfanar.org.uk) or email (info@alfanar.org.uk) to discuss eligibility and current opportunities.

Decision Timeline

Seed Programme Example (Lebanon):

  • Application submission deadline
  • Initial screening and shortlisting (10 organizations)
  • Jury selection of cohort (up to 5 organizations)
  • Total process: Approximately 2-4 months

Sustain Programme:

  • Due diligence and assessment phase: 3-6 months
  • Multi-stage selection including organizational assessment, leadership interviews, and openness to management support evaluation

Success Rates

Specific acceptance rates are not publicly disclosed. However:

  • Alfanar has supported 185 social enterprises since 2004
  • The organization prioritizes depth of support over breadth, maintaining a focused portfolio
  • Three-quarters of supported social enterprises reported significant improvements in impact and financial performance in 2024
  • 90% of portfolio organizations value technical support as much as or more than financial support

Reapplication Policy

Alfanar maintains an open-door policy for reapplication. Organizations not selected in one round are welcome to apply for future opportunities, as rejection may be due to timing, portfolio balance, or specific programme fit rather than organizational quality. Organizations are encouraged to incorporate feedback and strengthen their applications before reapplying.

Application Success Factors

What Alfanar Looks For

1. Revenue Generation Maturity:

  • Must have moved beyond pure charity/donation model
  • Demonstrate current earned income (even if modest)
  • Clear plan for increasing cost recovery percentage
  • Realistic pathway to financial sustainability

2. Growth Stage Positioning:

  • Past the startup phase with proven product/service
  • Not yet fully mature or well-established
  • In the critical “funding gap” between early-stage and mature support
  • Ready to scale impact and financial model

3. Openness to Partnership:

  • Genuine willingness to receive intensive management support
  • Coachable leadership team
  • Transparency in sharing data and challenges
  • View Alfanar as a partner, not just a funder

4. Impact Clarity:

  • Well-defined social/environmental objectives
  • Measurable outcomes aligned with SDGs
  • Clear understanding of beneficiary needs
  • Focus on disadvantaged communities

Recent Funded Examples

  • FabricAID (Egypt): Textile recycling social enterprise. Received 3 years of grant funding and management support before Alfanar's first equity investment (largest seed round by Arab region social enterprise). Grew from 15 to 100+ employees, recycled 84 tonnes of clothing, reduced CO2 by 302 tonnes, served 267,482 underprivileged customers.
  • Ana Aqra Association: Transformed into revenue-generating social enterprise with tested education products and services
  • Nafham: Online education platform that received support for critical UI improvements to advance student learning
  • L'Artisan du Liban: Sustained support for social enterprise development

Language and Approach

Alfanar uses venture philanthropy terminology emphasizing:

  • “Portfolio” (not grantees)
  • “Investment” (not just grants)
  • “Investees” or “portfolio social enterprises”
  • Financial sustainability alongside social impact
  • Revenue generation and cost recovery
  • Scalability and replicability
  • Impact measurement and management

Common Success Factors

  1. Clear revenue model: Even if early-stage, demonstrate understanding of income generation
  2. Realistic financials: Show current cost recovery percentage and growth trajectory
  3. Leadership quality: Strong, committed founder/leadership willing to learn
  4. Impact rigor: Data-driven approach to measuring and improving outcomes
  5. Scalability potential: Evidence model can grow beyond current scope
  6. Support readiness: Genuine interest in capacity building, not just funding
  7. Geographic fit: Clear operations in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, or Palestine serving disadvantaged communities

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  1. Alfanar is NOT a traditional grant maker: They operate as venture philanthropists seeking social enterprises with revenue models, not conventional charities. Applicants must demonstrate earned income capability and openness to intensive management support.
  1. Target the “growth gap”: Ideal candidates are past the startup phase with proven products/services but not yet mature. You're too early if you don't have sales to clients; you're too mature if you're well-established with strong funding.
  1. Geographic restriction is absolute: Only organizations operating in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, or Palestine are eligible. UK organizations cannot apply despite Alfanar being UK-registered.
  1. The relationship is as important as the money: 90% of portfolio organizations value technical support as much as or more than financial support. Applications should demonstrate enthusiasm for partnership, capacity building, and willingness to implement management systems.
  1. Financial sustainability is non-negotiable: Clearly articulate your current and projected earned income. Show realistic pathway to recovering significant percentage of costs through sales of goods/services, not perpetual dependency on donations.
  1. Gender and disadvantaged communities matter: While not always explicit requirements, these are cross-cutting priorities. Highlight how your work advances women's empowerment and serves marginalized populations.
  1. Think multi-year commitment: Particularly for Sustain support (3-5 years), demonstrate you're seeking a long-term strategic partner, not just one-off funding. Show how you'll use this time to achieve breakthrough growth in impact and sustainability.

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