Sawiris Foundation for Social Development
The Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) was established in 2001 with an endowment from the Sawiris Family, becoming one of the first national donor foundations in Egypt. The SFSD works to support marginalised Egyptians through programmes addressing poverty, unemployment, and limited access to healthcare and quality education. The foundation’s primary focus areas include economic empowerment, increasing access to quality education, social empowerment, and encouraging artistic and cultural creativity.
- Organisation type Foundation
- Year founded 2001
- Headquartered Cairo
- Registration Egypt
- Website https://www.sawirisfoundation.org/
Related sustainable development goals
Impact
US$420m+ in contributions and investments
Focus areas
Focus sectors
Agriculture
- Food security
- Farming
Development
- Economic development
- Employment
- Job creation and workforce developement
- Job training
- Job retraining
- Rural development
- Sustainable development
- Financial services
- Development finance
- Community development finance
Education
- Education services
- Out-of-school learning
- College preparation
- Co-operative education
- Graduate and professional
- Early childhood education
- Adult education
- Adult Literacy
- Continuing education
Health
- Reproductive health care
- Maternal and perinatal health
- Medical specialities
- Out-patient care
- Diseases and conditions
- In-patient care
- Healthcare access
Humanitarian
- Special population support
- Youth development
- Family services
- Food aid
Focus populations
- Artists and performers
- Farmers
- Immigrants and migrants
- Men and boys
- Older adults
- Refugees and displaced people
- Seniors
- Students
- Unemployed people
- Women and girls
- Young adults
Focus geographies
North Africa
- Egypt
Partners
- Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-Pal)
- Agence Française de Développement
- AlexBank
- Amideast
- Commercial International Bank Foundation
- drosos
- Dubai Cares
- Egyptian House
- European Bank
- Fondation Carrefour
- Fondation D'Entreprise Air France
- Fondation Lord Michelham of Hellingly
- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
- Government of Kuwait
- International Finance Corporation
- Kingdom of the Netherlands
- Majid Al Futtaim
- Orange
- Orascom
- Professional Development Foundation (PDF)
- Star Care
- Swiss Academy for Development
- Tawasol
- UN Women
- UNDP
- Wietlisbach Foundation
- World Bank
- World Food Programme
Programmes
Economic empowerment
This pillar supports micro-enterprises, runs training and employment support services, and has an agricultural development programme.
Education and scholarships
This includes scholarships, basic education, pre-primary education, technical and vocational education and executive education.Sawiris Culture Award
This is a competition recognising excellence among emerging and established novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, and literary critics.Social empowerment
This programme provides marginalised groups with access to healthcare, clean water, sanitation, and basic education, as well as support for homeless and at-risk children and care leavers.
Financials
Funding model
- Foundation-administered programme awards
- Grants to Individuals
- Grants to organisations
- In-kind gifts
- Donated equipment
- Donated land
- Donated goods
- Loans to Individuals
- Programme related investment
Primary funders
- Orascom
- Sawiris family
Funding source
- Private
Operations
Key staff
- Noura Selim, executive director
Board members
- Yousriya Sawiris, chair and founder
- Nadia Makram
- Nassef Sawiris
- Osama Beshai
- Taya Samih, secretary general
- Onsi Sawiris
- Ismail Serag Eldin
- Hala Hashem
- Mona Zulficar
- Naguib Sawiris, vice-chair
Contact details
- 00 20 2 279 27 660
- info@sawirisfoundation.org
- https://www.sawirisfoundation.org/
- 10 El Diwan St., Garden City, Cairo, Egypt
More
Resources
Meet Noura Selim: executive director of the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, which works to empower Egypt's poorest communities, and support inclusive development. Read more
Samih Sawiris, co-founder of the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development shares insights from his experience of stewarding family philanthropy in Egypt. Read more
How the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development is helping to build pathways out of poverty for people living in Upper Egypt. Read more