Misk Foundation and Gates Foundation Announce Launch of the “Challenge for Change” Supporting Development Projects, Driving Social Impact and Contributing to Progress Towards Sustainable Development Goals

Media contact

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (21 November 2024) – At the Misk Global Forum in Riyadh, the Mohammed Bin Salman Foundation (Misk) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced the Challenge for Change, a program aiming to support non-profits and social enterprises across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Following the success of the Misk Foundation’s Youth Non-profit Organization Building Program launched in 2021, helping launch 41 non-profit organizations and supporting 14 existing ones, the Challenge For Change, a program led by the Misk Foundation in partnership with the Gates Foundation with up to $2.5 million in grant funding, will incubate Saudi-based non-profit and social initiatives building technological, environmental or health and wellbeing solutions with local and global impact.

Bill Gates, Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said: “Today, young Saudi entrepreneurs are working on the cutting edge of AI, cloud computing, climate technology, and more. Digital startups are thriving, along with social entrepreneurs working to make the world a better, healthier place. This generation has inherited a remarkable legacy of innovation and I can’t wait to see the new solutions it will pioneer.”

The call for proposals specifically targets researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders whose solutions can create development advances in their communities with scalable potential across the Middle East region and in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The CEO of the Misk Foundation Dr. Badr Al-Badr said, "The Challenge for Change Program aligns with Misk's mission to support nonprofits with a social impact focus. Partnering with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the program aims to promote innovation in the Kingdom and support initiatives addressing both local and global challenges. Announcing the program during the eighth edition of the Misk Global Forum underscores the forum's purpose as a platform for local and global partnerships that empower youth and prepare them for the future."

Today’s announcement takes place as part of the Misk Global Forum 2024 (MGF), the largest youth forum in the Middle East region hosted by Misk Foundation dedicated to empowering and connecting young leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs globally. This year’s MGF theme, ‘By Youth For Youth’ serves as a platform for fostering discussions and creating networking opportunities to nurture youth potential, encourage collaboration, and catalyze positive global change.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s participation at MGF 2024 follows the announcement, in April 2024, of a landmark partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia including a $600 million pledge by the Kingdom to help protect 370 million children annually from polio and lift millions out of poverty across 33 Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) member countries. As part of the implementation of the new partnership, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also announced the establishment of a regional office in Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City.

About the Misk Foundation

Established by HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz in 2011, Misk Foundation is a non-profit organization devoted to cultivate and encourage learning and leadership in the youth for a better future in Saudi Arabia. To this end, Misk gives a hand to the youth across the country by providing various means to foster, empower, and establish a healthy environment for their creative talents to grow and see the light.

The Foundation invests in empowering the youth of Saudi Arabia in two main tracks; education and entrepreneurship, and culture and the creative arts, with science and technology as a supporting field. This is intended to be accomplished by designing programs and forging partnerships with local and global organizations to reach the ultimate objective: building a society based on knowledge. Misk pursues these goals by both designing programs and partnering with local and global organizations in diverse fields. Through an array of incubators, the Foundation invests in the intellectual capital and the capabilities of the youth of Saudi Arabia.

Misk Foundation believes that its endeavors will support and enhance the efforts to establish a knowledge-based society, which will in turn bring fulfillment and add value to Saudi Arabia.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman, under the direction of Chair Bill Gates and the board of trustees.

Media contact: [email protected]

More about the foundation

Our story

Learn about the origins of the foundation and the values that drive our work.

Our work

Learn about where we work around the globe and the programs we've created to address urgent issues in global health, global development, and education.

Ideas

Read the latest stories, research, and news from across the foundation and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Optimist.