During Microsoft Corporation Chairman Bill Gates’ recent visit to the Saudi capital, there was an emphasis on building stronger relationships with both the government and the nation’s business community. Additionally though, due time was given to bringing attention to Microsoft’s initiatives as a good “corporate citizen” in the Kingdom. Over the past three decades, Microsoft Corporation has expanded its business from the US to more than 90 other countries and now employs nearly 60,000 people globally. As the world’s largest and arguably most successful software company, Microsoft has made a commitment to provide technology access and skills training to a quarter billion people by 2010 — people previously under-served by technology.
“The reason that Microsoft implements corporate social responsibility programs is because we believe that we have to give back to the community that we work with. We are an integrated part of the community that we work in and we believe that we must have a long-term strategy to address certain segments within that community,” said Dr. Khaled Al-Dhaher, general manager of Microsoft in Saudi Arabia.
Over the past two years Microsoft has decided to concentrate its philanthropic activities on three specific segments within Saudi society, specifically youth, women and people with special needs, particularly children.
“By initiating specific programs in partnership with local entities we aim to help these three groups achieve their potential. We strongly believe that information technology can serve these three segments immensely and that when these three groups are enabled, Saudi society as a whole benefits,” explained Al-Dhaher. “Microsoft is the leading information technology company so we can provide a lot of experience and know-how on the best ways to use technology to address the needs of these three important groups.”
Al-Dhaher stated that during Gates’ visit to Saudi Arabia, Microsoft felt that it was important that they “identify, recognize and support” the NGOs that they have chosen to partner with in their ongoing philanthropic activities, particularly the King Faisal Foundation and the Centennial Fund.
“The Centennial Fund has a charter and we are working within that charter to enable young entrepreneurs to realize their potential. This is very much in line with Microsoft’s vision and direction,” remarked Al-Dhaher. “The Centennial Fund can support young people in achieving success in different industries and areas of commerce. Whatever an entrepreneur’s goal, information technology can provide them with the tools to reach it. Whether they want to establish a trading business or set up a service company or simply open a corner grocery in a new residential district, information technology can enhance their business processes. Starting a business has many expenses. People new to the business world need help in setting up accounting systems, communication systems, purchasing and so many other business processes. The entrepreneurs also need to stay in contact with advisers at the Centennial Fund so that they can operate their business in close consultation with people who can share with them information on best practices, regulatory compliance and other essential business issues so these young people will be able to manage their companies successfully.”
The Centennial Fund is providing resources to many young entrepreneurs who have never used information technology in a business setting before. For that reason, Microsoft has launched several different programs to assist these young business people.
“Training, software donation and the creation of a platform through which the Centennial Fund can share information with the entrepreneurs are all important aspects of Microsoft’s collaboration with this organization,” said Al-Dhaher.
Gates also signed an agreement with the King Faisal Foundation work in partnership on several philanthropic ventures.
“The agreement with the King Faisal Foundation is more broad based and with them we have identified specific activities that will address women, youth and special needs individuals in the Kingdom,” commented Al-Dhaher. “We chose the King Faisal Foundation because they have excellent reach and an excellent capability to execute with these three groups.”
While Al-Dhaher and his team recommend philanthropic activities in Saudi Arabia that deserve Microsoft’s support, in the end, final approval for such good works must come from higher-up in the company. During an interview with Arab News, Gates made it clear that being a good corporate citizen is part of the balanced approach to business that Microsoft tries to achieve worldwide.
“Microsoft is doing a lot of giving back. This is more typical of American companies. There is a tradition of that, an expectation of that,” the Microsoft chairman said. “When we hire people and when they see our slogan which is ‘empowering people’ they don’t see the slogan as saying ‘empowering people who can afford our software.’ It’s more of a broad thing. Thinking that software should be available to everyone. Software is very special in that respect. In our case you’re talking about something that is the literacy of the age. The thing that if a kid doesn’t have exposure to, you’re clearly not giving them the chance that they deserve to have (in life). So we have this particular imperative. We also have a product where giving away copies or having special prices, we have the flexibility to do that. We have to be creative so we don’t undermine our ability to invest in R&D in the future. I think we have struck that balance very well. Hopefully, the example we have set encourages others, including companies that aren’t based in the United States.”
Microsoft’s chairman also discussed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the channel through which his personal philanthropic efforts are directed. He feels that he has two different kinds of responsibility to the community — the philanthropic activities of Microsoft and the work done by his foundation. While these are separate, Gates pointed out that the success of Microsoft and the wealth created by that success has allowed his foundation to take on ambitious goals.
“In terms of my foundation, I picked to overcome what I thought was the greatest inequity in the world. This is that the value of a life in terms of health care is treated as being worth very little in the world at large,” Gates observed. “Major diseases such as malaria have not received the resources of the great scientists to go in and invent a vaccine.”
So that is exactly where the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is putting its funds. Finding vaccines and cures for malaria, tuberculosis, HIV — a total of 24 different diseases, many specific only to the developing world — are a primary focus of the organization. It is an effort that Gates understands will take decades but he already is optimistic that with targeted, well-funded research, cures will be found for most of these terrible illnesses. He also mentioned that Muslims will be high on the list of those who will live better lives if the research funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation succeeds.
“Because I am focused on inequity I hope that the biggest beneficiaries of my work are the poorer countries,” Gates said. “For example, any country that has to deal with malaria will benefit, but many countries with malaria such as nations in Africa and India, Pakistan, Bangladesh — a lot of these nations have high Muslim populations.”
And he will be returning to Saudi Arabia to discuss his plans in that regard.
“I do plan to come back at a future date and spend a day here focused on philanthropy. Talking to other people about what I have learned and why I enjoy it so much. Looking at not just philanthropy in general but in terms of some of these specific projects,” Gates promised. “I hope that philanthropy as a whole is something that more and more people get involved in. I’ll certainly do my part to encourage that.”
