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FAQs

PHILANTHROPIC AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT FAQs

1. How often will GABM ask for donations from its associate members?
2. How are GABM’s programs and philanthropic activities funded?
3. How often are GABM’s $1-Billion US Dollar private equity and investment funds established?
4. Who is responsible for the management of the GABM capital funds?
5. What are the current programs or activities of GABM?
6. What is the procedure for GABM associate members if they wish to support, contribute or participate in any of GABM’s programs or activities?
7. Will GABM fund philanthropic programs from other charity organizations?
8. Where are the majority of projects undertaken?
9. Can I be provided with detailed information or any proof on GABM’s projects and activities?
10. Does GABM have a public disclosure policy with regards to the performance and effectiveness of its philanthropic programs?

1. How often will GABM ask for donations from its associate members?

GABM never, ever request donations from its associate members to fund its philanthropic programs or activities.

2. How are GABM’s programs and philanthropic activities funded?

GABM’s business and funding models are the main reason for GABM’s success to date.

Our unique and sustainable funding model allows the organization to never request capital grants from its associate members in order to fund its philanthropic corporate activities.

For more detailed information about our Funding Model, kindly visit the ‘About Us’ section of the website.

3. How often are GABM’s $1-Billion US Dollar private equity and investment funds established?

GABM establishes capital funds on regular intervals in which its associate members can invest capital. Unfortunately, only GABM associate members can invest in our equity funds. The Board of Executives will duly notify its associate members when a fund has been established, what kind of fund it is, what the minimum investment amount is, when the fund will be closed, etc.

4. Who is responsible for the management of the GABM capital funds?

When a particular $1-Billion US Dollar capital fund is fully subscribed and closed for investments, the investing associate members appoint a management committee who will be responsible to appoint an experienced Fund Manager to invest and manage the capital on their behalf.

The GABM Board of Executives will on behalf of the investing associate members invite internationally recognized Fund Managers to submit tenders for consideration.

The Board of Executives will then make their recommendations to the committee who will make the final decision on which Fund Manager will invest and manage the applicable capital fund on behalf of the investing associate members.

Fund Managers:

IBDF Private Equity Fund
Fund Manager: IBDF International LLC
Website: www.ibdf-online.com

Summit Private Equity Fund
Fund Manager: IBDF International LLC
Website: www.ibdf-online.com

BDP Private Equity Fund
Fund Manager: IBDF International LLC
Website: www.ibdf-online.com

GABM Investment Fund I
Fund Manager: Oakwell Capital
Website: www.oakwellholdings.com

GABM Investment Fund II
Fund Manager: Oakwell Capital
Website: www.oakwellholdings.com

GABM Investment Fund III
Fund Manager: Oakwell Capital
Website: www.oakwellholdings.com

African Entrepreneurial Development Fund (AEDF)
Fund Manager: Oakwell Corporate
Website: www.oakwellholdings.com

5. What are the current programs or activities of GABM?

GABM’s primary goal with its philanthropic programs is to aggressively support and develop global entrepreneurship by contributing corporate expertise, business opportunities and capital resources to various deserving candidates and projects.

GABM’s secondary goal emphasizes – and plays an active part in – the support of various other vital social, economic and environmental considerations.

GABM’s philanthropic and various other development programs include, but are not restricted to:

Tertiary Education Sponsorships

The GABM ‘Adopt a Student’ sponsorship program addresses social needs by furthering the professional ambitions of deserving underprivileged individuals across the globe, by providing them with graduate- and post-graduate study bursaries and sponsorships at approved universities.

A database of young, dynamic and deserving individuals are being updated from time to time by GABM, from which its associate members can select candidates to sponsor.

To date GABM associate members have provided tertiary education sponsorships for 12 369 deserving underprivileged individuals, and by so doing they have effectively transformed earlier unskilled and unemployed individuals into the business leaders and job creators of tomorrow.

Download: To download the 'Adopt a Student, Application Form', visit the 'Downloads' section of the website or click here...
Download: For more detailed information and the criteria to participate, download the ‘Corporate Activities and Participation Procedures’ document available on the ‘Downloads’ section of the website or click here...

Entrepreneurial Development Financing

The GABM ‘Adopt an Entrepreneur’ program has been initiated in September 2005 in support of global entrepreneurship development. GABM associate members have shown remarkable good corporate citizenship in this regard with the establishment of the $125-million US Dollar African Entrepreneurial Development Fund, which has kick-started the program.

The objective of the ‘Adopt an Entrepreneur’ program is to provide unsecured loans or grants, typically ranging from $1000 - $10 000 US Dollar, to those who normally do not qualify for traditional banking credit facilities.

The significance of the ‘Adopt an Entrepreneur’ program is that it would empower subsistence farmers and small entrepreneurs with the necessary resources and ability to take responsibility for their own lives by generating sufficient future income for their respective families’ needs and requirements, thereby ultimately alleviating poverty amongst the millions of poor Africans in communities where it is needed most.

A database of qualified deserving individuals is being updated from time to time by GABM, from which its associate members can select candidates to sponsor.

To date GABM has provided approximately $45-million US Dollar in funding to more than 20 000 subsistence farmers and small entrepreneurs in 35 African countries.

Download: To download the 'Adopt an Entrepreneur, Application Form', visit the 'Downloads' section of the website or click here...
Download: For more detailed information and the criteria to participate, download the ‘Corporate Activities and Participation Procedures’ document available on the ‘Downloads’ section of the website or click here...

Corporate Investments and Partnerships

GABM’s corporate investments and partnerships program focuses on the creation of a vibrant business environment that will be conducive to the aggressive development of entrepreneurship and the creation of sustainable jobs through the funding of certain business development projects such as: Start-ups;  M.B.O. M.B.I. or L.B.O.; Mergers and acquisitions;  First and second phase financing;  Corporate restructurings;  Syndication funding ventures;  High yield speculation transactions;  Institutional investments; Financing of commodity transactions (high yield, short term transactions); Import/export finance or payment guarantees (high yield, short-term transactions); Property Developments, etc.

To fund these transactions, without requesting donations, GABM establishes $1-billion US Dollar capital funds on regular intervals in which its associate members can invest capital. Investment in these capital funds is completely voluntarily and only GABM associate members are allowed to invest capital. When a specific fund is fully subscribed, the investing associate members of the fund appoint an internationally recognized fund manager of their choice that is responsible to manage the funds on their behalf.

The life-cycle of each fund is perpetual but investing associate members can request the investment capital to be refunded after a period of 10 years. In terms of an agreement with the GABM investing associate members, 50 percent of all profits generated by these funds are donated to fund GABM philanthropic programs as determined and selected by the fund manager of each applicable fund, and the remaining 50 percent of the profits are paid back to the respective GABM investing associate members.

Thus, with a nominal investment in one or more of these capital funds, GABM associate members can participate in numerous philanthropic programs without donating or allocating capital at any stage, while simultaneously generating profits for themselves at the same time.GABM has currently six $1-billion US Dollar funds, which fund such business development projects all over the world. More information on these funds is available on the ‘GABM Capital Funds’ Blog.

To date more than $4-billion US Dollar has been invested in thousands of large business development projects. More than 100 000 permanent and temporarily job opportunities have been created in the process.

GABM only accepts funding proposals from its associate members who have submitted our standard 'Executive Project Summary' document.

Download: To download the 'Executive Project Summary' document, visit the 'Downloads' section of the website or click here...
Download: For more detailed information and the criteria to participate, download the ‘Corporate Activities and Participation Procedures’ document available on the ‘Downloads’ section of the website or click here...

Corporate Rescues

While we focus on the development of entrepreneurs and to create more job opportunities, we find that thousands of skilled employees and professional individuals are still being laid off on a monthly basis due to the global economic recession of late, or as a result of corruption, or fraud, or ineffective management models.

To this end, GABM and its associate members have initiated a strategy to incorporate the ‘Corporate Rescue’ Program, aimed at corporations on the brink of liquidation, as a long-term philanthropic program.

Corporations facing liquidation:

We urge the Management of corporations facing potential liquidation to request assistance from GABM’s Board of Executives as soon as possible. The Management should then provide GABM with a mandate to appoint a consultation group or corporate advisory specialists and strategists from its fold, at no cost to the Management, to act on their behalf in an effort to save the company and assist with a most-likely corporate restructuring process. In addition, the Management of such corporations can submit the standard Executive Project Summary (EPS) document, available on the ‘Downloads’ section of our website together with the applicable Business Plan to GABM’s Board of Executives to apply for access to financing from GABM’s investing members to prevent liquidation and permanent job losses.

Download: To download the 'Executive Project Summary' document, visit the 'Downloads' section of the website or click here...
Download: For more detailed information and the criteria to participate, download the ‘Corporate Activities and Participation Procedures’ document available on the ‘Downloads’ section of the website or click here...

Corporate advisory specialists and strategists:

In our efforts to save corporates and businesses from liquidation and thousands of job losses, GABM appeal to corporate advisory specialists from all over the world to apply for GABM associate membership. As and when deemed necessary, GABM will invite these corporate advisory members to make available and invest their corporate expertise and valuable time as a consultant in such ‘Corporate Rescue’ consultation groups, specifically designed to save corporations from liquidation and to secure long-term employment of employees.

Download: To download the ‘Membership Application Form' document, visit the 'Downloads' section of the website or click here...

Equity Grants

GABM’s equity grants towards global natural disasters are funded from the funds generated by the annual GABM associate membership fees.

By making these donations GABM also believe it will serve as an encouragement to other like-minded and prominent organizations to become good corporate citizens, as well as to support our Let’s Do More Initiative.

To date GABM has made equity grants to the following natural disasters:

• $10-million US Dollar donation towards the Asian Tsunami Disaster Fund
• $10-million US Dollar donation towards the Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts
• $20-million US Dollar donation towards the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund
• $15-million US Dollar donation towards the Japan Earthquake Relief Efforts
• $20-million US Dollar donation towards the Japan Earthquake Relief Efforts
• $2-million US Dollar donation towards the Somalian Famine Crisis

More information on GABM's equity grants towards natural disasters is available on the ‘International Disaster Contributions’ Blog.

Corporate Conferences, Functions and Seminars

Some associate members fund GABM corporate conferences, functions and seminars while others contribute by being the specialist guest speakers and presenters.

During the 2011 calendar year, GABM has scheduled 46 international conferences in major cities all over the world.

With the emphasis on contributing to a safer and better global economy, GABM has also recognizes the importance of hosting and presenting corporate functions, presentations as well as seminars to share corporate expertise, knowledge and general business information between international business leaders that will include the following objectives:

• To present matters of motivation, entrepreneurial innovation, global and local economic information and forecasts, as well as in-depth discussions on managerial and entrepreneurial and globalization issues that may have an impact on the global socio-economic environment
• To support and promote the principle of good corporate citizenship that will accelerate the development of entrepreneurship and infrastructure as well as the translation of theoretical knowledge into practical results that will lead to the alleviation of global poverty
• To support and promote good corporate governance practices within the business community and the public sector, which will address issues such as corruption, fraud, nepotism and individual responsibility

Download: For more detailed information and the criteria to participate, download the ‘Corporate Activities and Participation Procedures’ document available on the ‘Downloads’ section of the website or click here...

Fundraising Events

The donations by GABM Regional Chambers to deserving local charities in their respective countries are almost exclusively funded by the proceeds of their various local fundraising events.

GABM Regional Chamber’s fundraising events are focused on exclusive events such as golf tournaments, charity balls and various corporate functions, formal dinners, awards ceremonies, etc.

Although the primary objective of the fundraising events are to raise funds, it is in GABM’s perspective vital to use these events to introduce GABM and its corporate activities to local corporate communities as well as to involve and inspire others to participate and collaborate with GABM in its quest to develop entrepreneurship and simultaneously eradicate global poverty.

Download: For more detailed information and the criteria to participate, download the ‘Corporate Activities and Participation Procedures’ document available on the ‘Downloads’ section of the website or click here...

6. What is the procedure for GABM associate members if they wish to support, contribute or participate in any of GABM’s programs or activities?

• Associate members of GABM who are interested to participate in any of its corporate programs and activities can do so by written request to the Board of Executives of GABM.
• Your request must be in English and must contain your GABM associate membership number.
• The request must be e-mailed to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Every request will be strictly evaluated according to the merits contained in the applicant’s written request.

7. Will GABM fund philanthropic programs from other charity organizations?

No. GABM unfortunately does not finance philanthropic programs or events of other philanthropic organizations, unless it is a commercially viable project.

Any associate member of GABM may present to the Board of Executives proposals of prospective and deserving philanthropic programs and events for consideration. The Board of Executives are continuously evaluating the requests and proposals presented by its associate members and select programs most suited for GABM’s involvement and applicable to its available resources that will ensure the success and sustainability of any particular program.

The criteria for considering any particular program are subject to its ability to add significant value to the global as well as local physical and socio-economic environment.

The GABM Board of Executives as well as in some instances independent corporate auditors are collectively all responsible to measure and manage the effectiveness of GABM’s contributions towards its philanthropic programs. When the Board of Executives has selected specific philanthropic programs, such are disseminated to all associate members of GABM for their perusal.

Associate members can then decide whether they would like to participate and/or contribute in any particular program. Associate members can also decide whether their participation or contributions will be off a capital, human resources or of any other related nature.

All contributions and/or participation in GABM’s various philanthropic development programs by associate members are completely voluntary!

All collective contributions, of whatsoever nature, towards GABM’s philanthropic programs are provided by its associate members, through capital investments, grants, sponsorships, facilitation and participation in fund raising events, knowledge contributions, etc.

8. Where are the majority of projects undertaken?

Generally, most of our philanthropic programs are active in developing countries and most of our sponsors are from developed countries.

GABM is however limited to work in any country under UN sanctions or other trade restrictions, for example, countries like Iran, North Korea, etc.

To date, most of GABM’s corporate activities were focused on development programs on the African continent.

9. Can I be provided with detailed information or any proof on GABM’s projects and activities?

GABM has published certain statistics, information as well as press articles on its website that are open to the public. However, requests for information pertaining to specific details of projects and member participation are handled with care as GABM is bound by its Constitution to protect the confidentiality of transactions and information pertaining to the affairs of its associate members. Where GABM is granted permission to release such information, it will do so upon submission of a suitably motivated request in writing.

10. Does GABM have a public disclosure policy with regards to the performance and effectiveness of its philanthropic programs?

GABM’s disclosure policy excludes anyone from the public, which is not an associate member of the organization. However, in extraordinary situations like natural disasters as well as in the case of the African Entrepreneurial Development Program, the Board of Executives may decide to reveal its contributions to the media. This would only be done in order to motivate and inspire other corporates and affluent individuals to follow suit.

In addition, the philanthropic programs run by the GABM Regional Chambers are reflected on the ‘Blogs’ section of our website. The regional Blogs will be updated from time to time as more information comes available.

Download: To download the GABM FAQs document, visit the 'Downloads' section of the website or click here...
Download: To download a Profile of GABM, visit the 'Downloads' section of the website or click here...

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