Common threads

What do you get when you bring together a global group of multi-exited founders, design leaders, social entrepreneurs, Islamic philanthropy experts, big tech product designers, and a celebrated author and culture heritage champion?

The answer is: Collective Continuum, a new venture philanthropy outfit aiming to shake up the Muslim founders’ scene and support social impact start-ups to take their ideas to scale. Describing itself as a “co-pilot to the world’s bravest engineers”, Collective Continuum says it wants to change the world “one impact venture at a time”.

“There is a lot in this world that is divisive right now,” Azim Kidwai, a co-founder and board member tells Philanthropy Age. “So we’re trying to focus on creating something that brings us together and counters the negativity,” adds the UK-based CEO of Mercy Mission, the world’s largest Islamic Donor Advised Fund (DAF).

“Innovation knows no religion; people don’t care who solves a problem, they just want to enjoy the solution. No-one cares that one of YouTube’s founders, Jawed Karim, was a Muslim,” he says. “So, let’s just focus on solving problems and making a difference together.”

A venture run out of the UK and US, Collective Continuum launched in 2022 and is looking to “create lasting positive change” by backing 1,000 global projects “that will benefit humanity” by the end of the decade.

"It's hard to start anything— but it's even harder without a champion."

Mark Gonzales, CEO, Collective Continuum.

By providing a mix of funding, networking, and design support to start-ups, social enterprises, and nonprofits, UK-registered Collective Continuum wants to go beyond simple grant making and impact investing and create an enabling environment to help organisations deliver greater impact at scale.

“We've spent the past few years investing, learning, and testing models in different parts of the world, and now it's acceleration time,” says CEO Mark Gonzales, who is based in Oakland, California. “We are looking to build infrastructure for Muslim founders to thrive.”

"It's hard to start anything— but it's even harder without a champion," he adds. "What we’re trying to do at Continuum is send a signal both to the funding field, whether philanthropic, for profit or family office, as well as to the field itself, the fundees, that there are resources available and that we can get creative and innovative about how we resource as well.”

image title — The Collective Continuum team pictured in 2024. Scroll down to find our more about the founders and board members.

One of Continuum’s flagship initiatives is its annual start-up competition, Spark. First run in 2023, the Continuum Spark Award invites social impact start-ups from around the world to compete for funding, design support, and networking opportunities.

Last year’s global winners, who shared the US$250,000 prize, were Pandai, a Malaysian AI-driven application to improve academic performance and T.Care, an Indonesian nonprofit providing sustainable solutions for the disposal of cooking oil.

Pandai and T.Care were two of more than 750 entries from some 59 countries. Notably, three Palestinian companies made it to the GCC / MENA regional semi-final; SunBox, an affordable provider of solar power in Gaza; Glean, which repurposes plastic bags into bricks and tiles; and Amal Initiative, a not-for-profit volunteer network supporting Palestinians with upskilling and mentoring.

In 2023, standout finalists included a humanitarian translation tool, a mobile app offering culturally-sensitive mental health support, a Waqf investment platform, and a resource library for new and aspiring Muslims.

“It’s wondrous to see that our intuition is right,” says Gonzales. “The response to Spark has shown us that there are amazing ideas, ventures, and world changing concepts across the world that are currently don't have access to capital mentorship or infrastructure support – and this is the gap we’re looking to fill.”

In addition to funding Spark, Continuum is also supporting GMW, a global Muslim events network, which has hosted the finals of Spark at his summit in Doha for the last two years.

“We’re a collective giving fund,” explains Gonzales. “And this is what makes us unique. Our vision is to grow that collective and that pool. We want to give in such bold and innovative ways with such intent and excellence that others are excited about new ways of giving and investing.”

Seven steps to success

Collective Continuum follows this process when it invests in ventures:

Identify visionaries: Seeking out founders with exceptional ideas.
Idea filtration: Evaluating ideas based on impact, originality, and scalability.
Strategic investment: Investing in the most promising ideas.
Mission studio: Collaborating with founders to develop comprehensive launch strategies.
Assemble top talent: Bringing together experts to guide initiatives toward success.
Launch phase: Launching ventures to create meaningful impact.
Scale and amplify: Continuing support to expand the venture's reach and influence.

Venture philanthropy, by definition, is about going beyond funding to also work with investees to build their capacity, sharpen their focus, and give them access to previously inaccessible networks and opportunities.

Alfanar, a UK-based but MENA-focused venture philanthropy organization has pioneered this holistic approach and over the last decade has provided seed capital as well as technical support to nearly 100 high-impact social enterprises across Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine – impacting close to 400,000 lives.

Some of their notable investees include: FabricAid, recycling and reselling clothes to reduece landfill and provide new retail options to low-income communities; Future Eve Foundation, providing low-cost loans and financial independence to Egyption widows; Natakallam, empowering refugees to work as online language translators and tutors; and Delta Oil, giving low-income families a chance to make money from recycling cooking oil.

Continuum is looking to emulate Alfanar’s success – but on a global scale and through a Muslim founder lens. “We want to create create an environment where people can be judged on their ideas, not by their last name or not by their traditions,” notes Gonzales.

Providing holistic support is at the base of Continuum’s strategy and good product design is key to this, says Peter Gould, an advisor at Continuum. “We're living in a world where there's so much noise and so many products launched every day, so it can be hard to stand out?

“We want to give entrepreneurs direct and strategic design support to help them really understand their audience and improve their product,” the softly-spoken Australian tells Philanthropy Age. And he adds: “It’s one thing to provide funding to help ventures scale, we should also be asking how we can also help them serve humanity better.”

For the team at Continuum this is only the beginning. They hope their approach will help create new models and find new ways to channel Islamic giving into enterprise and innovation, delivering impact for all. - PA

Meet the Collective Continuum

Ziver Birg, founder and board member

Ziver Birg grew up in California where at the age of 18 founded his first company making computerized kiosks for fast food outlets. Several exits later, he is now directing his wealth and energy towards finding disruptive solutions for nonprofits, including Collective Continuum. According to Birg, “The Collective Continuum represents a community of like-hearted individuals who are focused on eternity for God's pleasure alone… It is run by a collective of individuals who through companionship and equality have banded together to utilise their collective energies for goodness. No one person represents this intention, it is truly by the people for the people.”

Azim Kidwai, co-founder and board member

The founder of the National Zakat Foundation Worldwide, Azim Kidwai is a leading authority on Islamic Social Finance ventures and working with governments and non-faith actors on what role they can play in enabling Zakat in their economies. Based in Bradford in the north of England, Kidwai currently leads Mercy Mission, the largest Islamic Donor Advised Fund in the World and serves across multiple boards on major philanthropic organisations.

Mark Gonzales, CEO

Born and raised in small-town rural Alaska to second generation Mexicans immigrants, Mark Gonzales converted to Islam in his 30s after a death in the family left him questioning the meaning of life. Soon-to-turn 50, Gonzales has had a rich and varied career, most recently splitting his time between Silicon Valley and the ancient streets of Tunisia, where he and his wife run a cultural heritage project called New Medina rehabilitating old buildings and preserving national traditions. His book “Yo Soy Muslim: a Father’s letter to his daughter” was named Huffington Post’s Most Powerful Children’s Book of 2017.

Muhammed Yeslilhark, co-founder and non-executive board member

Born and educated in Germany to Turkish immigrants, Muhammed Yeslilhark’s career in investment banking and hedge fund management took him first to London and later Dubai, where he is now the chief investment officer at NOIA Capital, and a member of the board of directors of Dubai Chamber of Commerce. Yeslilhark is also the chairman of Shamaazi, a fintech-for-good company behind successful ventures such as MyTenNights.com, an online donation platform encouraging Muslims to make donations during laylatul qadr, the holiest period of Ramadan, and ZAKchat, a personal personal chatbot assistant helping people work out their Zakat accurately. He has also served as an adviser and board member of the UK-based National Zakat Foundation, where he first met Azim Kidwai.

Talha Yeslihark, co-founder and non-executive board member

Born and raised in Germany, Talha Yeslilhark studied finance and management and has worked in senior roles at Deutsche Bank in Europe and the Middle East. He is currently based in Frankfurt. When Yeslilhark and his brother, Muhammed, reconnected with Ziver Berg, a childhood friend from their time growing up in Germany who had just had a successful exit, during the Covid-19 pandemic, they spent months collectively brainstorming how they could channel wealth where it was needed. They wanted to find something beyond charity, something that would “create lasting impact” and “deliver the highest bang for buck” – and from out of these sessions, Collective Continuum was born.

Asif Baki, chief experience officer

Growing up in Wisconsin, and now based in Chicago, Asif Baki started his tech career at Microsoft before moving to Google. There, he was a lead player in the Next Billion Users initiative, making the internet more accessible to the Global South by re-thinking traditional approaches to deliver lower data costs, more suitable design, UX and UI, often through a mobile-first lens. “Finding solutions starts with identifying the right problems, and from there, you can cultivate a culture and give people the resources, training and mentorship you need,” he says.

Seven steps to success