London Business School’s global scholarship program recently enjoyed donations totalling £600,000 from their alumni community and regional business leaders in the Middle East, according to a press release from the school. The donations, which included four six-figure gifts, were raised as part of a fundraising campaign aiming to reach £100 million. The donations will largely be used to support the school’s scholarship programs as well as finance the school’s research program.
A number of donors’ money was used to create new scholarship programs. Muna Easa Al Gurg, London Business School MBA alumni, Director of Retail at the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, and chairwoman of the Young Arab Leaders UAE, donated to the cause. Her donation will be used to create the Muna Al Gurg scholarship, which will support students working on their MBA or Executive MBA. Navin Valrani, London Business School MBA alumni and CEO of the Al Shirawi group, donated to the cause along with his wife Monica Valrani, CEO of Ladybird Nurseries. Their donation will be used to support Indian women who display exceptional talent and plan on returning to India after graduating.
Meredith Pierce Hunter, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, was excited at the potential growth and development that could stem from the donations. “We are very grateful to our Middle Eastern donors for their generosity and unwavering commitment to the School. The Campaign is essential for our ambition to grow. These donations will provide opportunities for the next generation of business leaders to make a significant impact. We are proud the donations have come from this dynamic and exciting region to which we have been committed for almost a decade through our Dubai Centre, Executive MBA and Executive Education programmes,” she said in a press release.