Takaful Charity Foundation

Takaful Charity Foundation

The foundation was established in 2010 under the leadership of Yousef Al-Benyan, who concurrently serves as Saudi Arabia's Minister of Education and is the former CEO of SABIC. Its mandate centers on reducing financial barriers that prevent students in Saudi public schools from completing their education, targeting a transition from need to self-sufficiency through a combination of direct stipends, school-supply distributions, and technology-access programs. Takaful's deployment strategy is defined by a partnership-driven operating model and a bifurcated asset base. On the programmatic side, the foundation channels corporate donations into specific initiatives: Saudi Aramco backs the 'Knowledge Gift' tablet-distribution program, Jarir Bookstore supports the 'Back to School' supply drive, and financial institutions including Riyadh Bank, Al Rajhi Bank, and Saudi National Bank serve as funding partners for student aid. On the investment side, the foundation maintains two distinct portfolios — a Saudi Arabia-focused mixed-use endowment portfolio (waqf) and a globally oriented alternative investment portfolio — to generate the returns that sustain its charitable disbursements over time. Governance rests with a board that blends state educational leadership and institutional investment expertise. Board member Raed Abdullah Ismail holds a senior executive position at the Public Investment Fund and serves on the boards of ACWA Power and Credit Suisse Saudi Arabia, while investment committee member Dr. Abdullah Aldakhil is the former CEO of the Higher Education Fund. The foundation does not disclose team headcount, but its governance committees draw on real-asset and banking specialists — audit committee member Nasser Mohammed Nasser Alsadoun also sits on the boards of Abdullah Bin Saedan and Sons Real Estate and Mulkia Gulf Real Estate REIT. In its broader educational role, the foundation has contributed to G20 Education Working Group reports on blended education and educational poverty. Takaful operates at the intersection of a state-mandated social program and an independent endowment vehicle. Its structural distinction lies in this embedded posture: the chairman simultaneously runs the nation's education ministry, creating a direct feedback loop between policy design and charitable execution that bypasses the grant-proposal friction typical of independent foundations.