A fresh approach to international development | Faisal Saeed Al Mutar

Summary

Podcast Summary: "A Fresh Approach to International Development" by Faisal Saeed Al Mutar

Podcast Information:

• Title: TED Talks Daily
• Host/Author: TED
• Episode: A Fresh Approach to International Development | Faisal Saeed Al Mutar
• Release Date: February 19, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of TED Talks Daily, host Elise Hu introduces Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, a specialist in international aid and development. Faisal presents a transformative perspective on international development, challenging traditional models and proposing innovative solutions to enhance the effectiveness of aid.

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Speaker Background

[03:10] Faisal Saeed Al Mutar: Faisal begins by sharing his personal background, growing up in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Malaysia. Coming from an academic family, he humorously refers to himself as the "failure" of the family, contrasting his parents' professions—his father a doctor and his mother a lawyer—with his own struggles. This diverse upbringing exposed him to the harsh realities of displacement and the squandered potential of talented individuals forced to abandon their homes.

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Critique of Traditional Aid Models

[03:20] Faisal Saeed Al Mutar: Faisal criticizes the current system of international aid, highlighting significant issues:

• Corruption: Excessive middlemen and gatekeepers prevent funds from reaching intended beneficiaries.
• Inefficiency: According to the World Bank, creating one job in international development can cost up to $20,000.
• Poor ROI: Investments often yield minimal returns compared to private sector ventures like Twitter or Theranos, yet still represent substantial financial waste.

Notable Quote:

“The current system of aid is filled with corruption, too many middlemen, too many gatekeepers, and the money hardly makes it to the people that intend to help.”
— Faisal Saeed Al Mutar [03:40]

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Opportunity in Talent and Entrepreneurship

[04:10] Faisal Saeed Al Mutar: Despite the challenges, Faisal highlights a silver lining: nearly half of the population in the region aspires to start a business within the next five years. This indicates millions of innovators, entrepreneurs, and creatives whose skills could drive economic growth if properly invested in.

Notable Quote:

“There is a lot of talent that is being wasted if we don't invest in them.”
— Faisal Saeed Al Mutar [04:30]

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Redefining the Purpose of Aid

[04:50] Faisal Saeed Al Mutar: Faisal proposes a paradigm shift in aid strategy:

• Purpose Redefinition: Transition from aid as a bureaucratic "do good" endeavor to a tool that removes barriers and facilitates movement towards economic normalcy.
• Economic Focus: Emphasize investments that stimulate economic growth and combat corruption.
• Direct Funding Model: Implement a "one grant per person" approach to minimize favoritism and reduce the influence of political elites.

Notable Quote:

“Aid doesn't have to be costly to be effective.”
— Faisal Saeed Al Mutar [05:30]

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Case Studies: Demonstrating Success

[06:00] Faisal Saeed Al Mutar: Faisal shares success stories from his initiatives:

1. Hashem Hakim in Mosul:

   • Background: Founder of Hakim, a company established in a region once controlled by ISIS.
   • Investment: With $3,000, Hashem founded a taxi company employing over 57 people.

2. Hani Hamada in Turkey:

   • Background: A Syrian refugee and self-learner who started a business teaching Turkish to new immigrants.
   • Investment: With $3,000, Hani now employs 33 refugee teachers.

Impact Comparison:

• New Model: $1 million investment leads to the creation of 35,000 jobs.
• Traditional Model: The same investment under traditional aid creates only 50 jobs.

Notable Quote:

“With $1 million, we were able to create 35,000 jobs. Compared to the old model that you can only create 50 jobs. So which investment is better?”
— Faisal Saeed Al Mutar [06:45]

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Global Adoption and Future Implications

[07:00] Faisal Saeed Al Mutar: Faisal notes that the innovative aid model he's advocating for is already being adopted in various regions, including Ukraine, parts of India, and Africa. This widespread adoption underscores the model's versatility and effectiveness.

Future Vision: By focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship, Faisal envisions transforming conflict-ridden regions into areas of sustained economic growth and talent retention. His approach aims to shift the narrative from regions being places from which people flee to destinations where people choose to live and invest.

Notable Quote:

“By focusing on the future, by focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship, I believe we can transform the region from a region that's filled with conflict and war to a region that people decide to stay and invest in.”
— Faisal Saeed Al Mutar [07:15]

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Conclusion

Faisal Saeed Al Mutar's talk presents a compelling case for reimagining international aid. By addressing systemic inefficiencies and corruption, and by empowering individuals through direct and strategic investments, his approach promises a higher return on investment and fosters sustainable economic development. This fresh perspective not only challenges existing paradigms but also offers hope for regions grappling with conflict and economic stagnation.

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Additional Information:

• Production Credits: The episode was produced and edited by Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar, and Tansika Sarmarnivon. Mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan with additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballarezzo.
• Host: Elise Hu will continue to bring fresh ideas in future episodes.

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For More: Discover more about TED's curation at ted.com/curationguidelines.

Transcript

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[Elise Hu]

TED Talks Daily is.

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[Elise Hu]

You're listening to TED Talks Daily where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. I got to meet today's speaker Faisal said Al Mutter when we were both giving our talks in the same TED conference session last fall. So I'M super excited to introduce his talk on international aid and development. He is a specialist in this area and in this talk he made me think about it in entirely new ways.

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Enjoy.

[Faisal Said Al Mutar]

My name is Faisal Said Al Mutar. I was born and raised in Iraq in the city of Babylon. Grew up in an academic family. My dad is a doctor, my mom is a lawyer, and I'm the failure. So the person who's giving a TED Talk here is the failure of the family. So I grew up in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Malaysia. And I've seen firsthand the cost of talent and the fact that they were forced to leave their homes. So the subject of lifting people up and the subject of international development is not just theoretical, academic subject for me, it's what I think about the whole time. As you probably know, the United States has spent trillions of dollars in the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan only to replace Saddam Hussein with Iran and the Taliban with the Taliban. A greater type of investment, right? So I started looking, I started asking questions and I found that the current system of aid is filled with corruption, too many middlemen, too many gatekeepers, and the money hardly makes it to the people that intends to help. So the intention and the big picture is good. But to really actually get help is very difficult. And according to the World bank, it can cost up to $20,000 to create one job in international development. There is still better investment than Twitter or Theranos, but still that is a lot of money wasted. And, but we also found, and that's the good news is that almost half of the people in the region say that they intend to start a business in the next five years. That is millions of innovators, millions of entrepreneurs, millions of creatives who would have their skills wasted if we don't invest in them. So I start thinking about, what if we actually redefine the model of aid? What if we actually redefine the purpose of aid instead of just being a do good bureaucracy, to actually remove the barriers and define the purpose of aid as moving people towards normalcy, meaning moving people toward the world of supply and demand. And we did just that. So we made it very easy for people to actually get funds. And that's the process that we follow. And also to think about investment, we think about the one that can stimulate economic growth. And also to fight the corruption crisis, and I'll call it the corruption disease. In most of the Middle east, we actually make it one grant per one person. So in that way, there is little system of favoritism, little system of trying to choose people who are connected to the political elite and have it forward. So that being said, what we found was really amazing. We found that the moment we move people towards that, they're far more accountable to their own communities, not to us. This is a story of one of the great stories that we supported, which is a founder of Hakim. Hashem Hakim is the founder of Lego. He's in the city of Mosul, which used to be what ISIS declared this caliphate. And he founded a taxi female company. And now with $3,000, I kid you not, he now hires more than 57 people. So think about the return of investment. And he is not alone. He is actually one of 250 projects we supported. Hani Hamada is a Syrian refugee who lives in Turkey. Hani is a self learner. He learned Turkish and he was, you know what? I'm going to start a business that teaches Turkish to new immigrants. And then he built up a business and with the $3,000, he also now has 33 people staff. All of them are refugees teaching Turkish. So look at the new model. With $1 million, we were able to create 35,000 jobs. Compared to the old model that you can only create 50 jobs. So which investment is better? Okay, that's straightforward, right? And what's also amazing, after we actually tried that, we saw that the variation of this model is already being filled right now in Ukraine, in some parts of India, some parts of Africa. So we're not only ones doing it. And the lesson of my talk is aid doesn't have to be costly to be effective. You might actually be wondering right now, why am I talking about aid, development and innovation while the Middle east is at war right now? And the answer is the old methods and the past is actually what got us here. By focusing on the future, by focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship, I believe we can transform the region from a region that's filled with conflict and war to a region that people decide to stay and invest in, to invest in talent other than place that people escape. Thank you so much, ted. Thank you.

[Elise Hu]

That was Faisal Saeed Al Matar at TED Next 2024. If you're curious about TED's curation, find out [e-mail] curationguidelines and that's it for today's show. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Greene, Lucy Little, Alejandra Salazar and Tansika Sarmarnivon. It was mixed by Christopher Faizy Bogan. Additional support from Emma Tobner and Daniela Ballarezzo. I'm Elise Hu. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.

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