The Aga Khan congratulating graduates of a midwife training course in
Afghanistan that was sponsored by the Aga Khan Development Network.
HE is a moderate Muslim religious leader and a descendant of the Prophet
Muhammad. He is also a twice-married jet-setter, and he owns hundreds
of racehorses, valuable stud farms, an exclusive yacht club on Sardinia
and a lavish estate near Paris.
HE is a moderate Muslim religious leader and a descendant of the Prophet
Muhammad. He is also a twice-married jet-setter, and he owns hundreds
of racehorses, valuable stud farms, an exclusive yacht club on Sardinia
and a lavish estate near Paris.
In a rare interview, the Aga Khan, who is chairman of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development,
a for-profit company based in Geneva, says he is more concerned with
the long-term outcomes of his investments than with short-term profits.
Rather than fretting daily over the bottom line, he says, he tries to
ensure that his businesses become self-sustaining and achieve stability,
which he defines as “operational break-even,” within a “logical time
frame.”
“If you travel the developing world, you see poverty is
the driver of tragic despair, and there is the possibility that any
means out will be taken,” he says in a telephone interview from Paris.
By assisting the poor through business, he says, “we are developing
protection against extremism.”
The company’s main purpose “is to
contribute to development,” he adds. “It is not a capitalist enterprise
that aims at declaring dividends to its shareholders.” Central to his
ethos is the notion that his investments can prompt other forms of
economic growth within a country or region that results in greater
employment and hope for the poor.
Economic developments experts say the Aga Khan’s activities offer a useful template for others — including philanthropists like Bill Gates and George Soros
— who are trying to assist the world’s poorest by marrying business
practices to social goals, but whose foundation work usually stops short
of owning businesses outright in poor countries.
Resource : http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/business/yourmoney/08khan.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
No comments:
Post a Comment