Monyati Initiatives is a non-profit social development organization that supports communities in need. Monyati is an Arabic word that can be translated into English as a little wish that is close to your heart.

Our focus is to support those who live at risk regardless of their cultural or religious background. We work globally in partnership with social organizations and socially committed corporations. From 2009 till date we implemented projects in Africa, Asia, South America and the Carribean in the housing, water and education sector.

We specialize in strategy and project development for NGOs and advise on establishing corporate CSR departments. We source, execute and oversee each project regardless of their geographic focus. Our strength lies in identifying right partners and securing funds to create lasting and sustainable social initiatives. Monyati Initiatives is registered as a public charitable trust in Mumbai India with 12A & 80G certificate.

Everyone from the Monyati team works free of charge as volunteers. No administration fees are applied and all costs are covered from own pocket. That means 100% of all funds received go solely and directly to the communities in need.

Monja Wolf is the founder and managing director of Monyati Initiatives. A German native, she has lived in the Middle East since 2005. Previous to Monayti she set-up the CSR department for a Dubai-based developer, supported UNICEF’s regional partnership activities and lived in Dhaka to work directly with Professor Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of Grameen Bank, on the development of social business in Bangladesh.  Monja has lived in four continents over the span of her life. She is currently a nominee for the Emirates Woman of the Year Award 2011 and was a guest speaker at TEDx Dubai in 2010.

Santosh Tiwari is part of the Monyati team and leads our operations in Uttar Pradesh India. He is based in Mumbai and works as the commercial director for a leading real estate company in India. Santosh is associated with various charitable social organizations mainly active in the field of education for poor communities in rural India. He is also the founder of an education trust which operates a basic village school for under privileged children in Uttar Pradesh India. 

Professor Dr. Paul Light is on the advisory board of Monyati Initiatives. He is the Paulette Goddard professor of Public Service at the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. He earned his Ph.d. from the University of Michigan in Political Science. Professor Light has taught at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government among several others. He is now the founding director of the New York University/Abu Dhabi Center for Global Public Service and Social Impact. Professor Light has written twenty-six books. His most recent book is "The search for social entrepreneurship", which examines the evolution of the current movement to address the world’s most difficult social problems.

Dr. Tarik Yousef is on the advisory board of Monyati Initiatives. He is the founding dean of the Dubai School of Government. An expert on the economies of the Arab world, he received his Ph.d. in Economics from Harvard University with specialization in Development Economics and Economic History. Dr. Yousef's research and policy experience includes working as an economist in the Middle East department of the International Monetary Fund, visiting senior economist in the Middle East and North Africa region of the World Bank, and senior adviser for the Millennium Project at the United Nations.

Masood A. Razaq is on the advisory board of Monyati Initiatives. He is the founder of Goodgate, a social venture which enables strategic philanthropy across the Muslim world. In 2011 he was named a Synergos Arab World Social Innovator. Masood received his A.B. magna cum laude in Government from Harvard University, an M.Phil with Honors in Development sSudies from the University of Cambridge, and an M.B.A. with Distinction from the Harvard Business School. Prior Masood was a managing director of private equity at Emirates NBD, served as group manager of corporate strategy at Microsoft in Seattle, and as a management consultant at A.T. Kearney and Mckinsey & Company in London.

Haytham Kaddoura is on the advisory board of Monyati Initiatives. He is an executive director at DIFC Investments, a sovereign investment arm of the Dubai Government, and represents the company on the board of several European and the Middle Eastern companies. Haytham brings more than 15 years of management expertise in diverse corporate strategy and planning, corporate restructuring, private equity, and mergers and acquisitions arenas. He holds an MBA in Finance and International Business from Mc Gill University in Montreal, Canada.