Founders of J-PAL, supported by Community Jameel, receive the Nobel Prize in Economics

  • Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, co-founders of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Lab, have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics 2019 for “their experimental approach to global poverty alleviation”.
  • Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Lab (J-PAL) is a laboratory of ideas supported by Community Jameel, that encourages the development of innovative policy programs to fight poverty.
  • FRV, as part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, feels proud to belong to the Jameel Family and share their commitment to human development

Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) co-founders Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, with longtime J-PAL affiliate Michael Kremer, were jointly awarded the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The prize was awarded “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.”

Being part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, this award represents a source of pride and satisfaction for FRV: “It is a huge recognition from the entire world to the efforts that these professors and J-PAL have developed since 2005 to tackle the root causes of poverty across the globe. FRV shares the pride of working for a family with this great social commitment, and that for many years strives to help others do great things for the world” says Daniel-Sagi-Vela, CEO of FRV.

Video interview to professors Duflo and Banerjee:

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J-PAL, a lab of innovative policies against poverty

The economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo co-founded J-PAL with Sendhil Mullainathan at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2003 with a mission of reducing poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by scientific evidence. J-PAL receives ongoing support from Community Jameel, an organization established more than 15 years ago by the Jameel family to support social and economic sustainability.

J-PAL conducts randomized evaluations of innovative policy ideas and programs to identify what works, what doesn’t, and why in the fight against poverty; and works with partners to bring the most effective programs to scale.

Community Jameel

This is just one of the multiple initiatives carried out by Community Jameel, the social enterprise organisation of the Jameel family. Established in 2003, Community Jameel operates a wide range of initiatives to promote a positive society and economic sustainability. Focused in the development of human potential, Community Jameel promotes arts and culture, works against unemployment, enables research for poverty alleviation and food and water security, and provides education and training opportunities in the Middle East and all around the world.

Community Jameel works in partnership with major institutions around the world. One long-standing relationship is with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Apart from J-PAL, with MIT, Community Jameel has supported and partnered with laboratories such as The Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (J-WAFS), which coordinates and promotes water and food research and The Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL), which works to spark a global renaissance in education for all learners, leveraging MIT’s resources to convene a global community of collaborators for sustainable, high-impact transformation in education through research, policy, pedagogy, and practice.

Social and economic commitment, at the heart of FRV

FRV, as part of Abdul Latif Jameel, shares this strong commitment to economic and social development, ensuring access to more competitive energy, creating wealth and boosting the growth of those regions in which it is present through job creation and education. Young Talented Leaders programme is one of the most relevant projects. , developed in collaboration with IE University. This is a scholarship agreement that aims to extend the social impact of certain projects. Since 2015, a total of six students from Jordan, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain have benefited from the scholarship.

FRV’s educational commitment is also reflected in the company’s support to the launch of the first nanosatellite in Jordan. The satellite disseminates images of Jordanian archaeological, cultural and tourist sites with ground stations around the world for research and educational projects. It was constructed as part of a collaboration agreement between FRV, who supported with funding adn the Crown Prince Foundation (CPF) an institution that promotes social, cultural and intelectual initiatives amongt Young Jordanians.

FRV also collaborated with Pequeña Nowina, a non-profit organisation that was born with the aim of dignifying the work of women and girls, and providing them with the tools to be independent, free and self-sufficient. In this case, FRV supported the installation of electricity supply in a cooking school for women in the city of Lunsar, in northern Sierra Leone. To this end, FRV contributed to the installation of 16 solar panels linked to a set of batteries that will provide sustainable energy.

Daniel Sagi-Vela, CEO of FRV, comments that “Our social contribution stems from FRV’s commitment to improve people’s lives through our experience and technological capacity. That is why we defend the democratization of renewable energies as the best way to offer a more promising and sustainable future throughout the world, especially in those regions where access to energy is still so insufficient”