Case of CSR in Islamic Countries: The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development is a government-owned, semi-independent organisation under the authority of the state of Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is Kuwait’s agency for the provision and administration of financial and technical assistance to developing countries. It was founded in 1961, with the aim of sharing the countries’ newly found oil wealth with neighbours (Arab countries) and with friends (other developing countries). Kuwait was then a developing country itself, making the Kuwait Fund the first aid agency in the world established by a developing country.
The Kuwait Fund is funded by the government of Kuwait. Its total capital is around USD seven billion. The Kuwait Fund is managed as a semi-independent arm of the government of Kuwait. Despite this structure, the fund operates autonomously.
The fund’s objective is to assist Arab and other developing countries in developing their economies, by providing loans and guarantees and technical assistance, and by contributing to capital stocks of international and regional development (finance) institutions. The activities of the Kuwait Fund primarily focus on the sectors of agriculture and irrigation, transport and communications, energy, industry, and water and sewage.
Loans can be provided to central and local governments and other public organisations, to development institutions, and also to corporate entities (with the requirement that the corporate entity is developmental in nature and not merely oriented towards making profit).
Since the start of the Kuwait Fund, the fund has given a total of 922 loans to over 100 beneficiary countries. When the Kuwait Fund was founded, it focused mainly on the Arab countries.