Bill Gates will join ADFW 2025 for a landmark pledging session hosted by Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation to support global polio eradication efforts.
ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) 2025 will feature a major global health milestone as Bill Gates, Chair of the Gates Foundation, is confirmed to headline a high-level pledging session for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Hosted by the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, the event will take place on day one of ADFW, from 8–11 December 2025, under the theme “Investing in Humanity.”
Gates will join other influential leaders, investors and philanthropists to explore how innovative finance can address global challenges, with a focus on unlocking private capital for human development. The session will also include a keynote by Dr. Shamma Khalifa Al Mazrouei, Acting Director-General of the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, and other distinguished guests.
The event will culminate in a major pledging moment, rallying global donors to commit new funding towards the GPEI — a long-standing public-private partnership aimed at eradicating polio worldwide. The initiative is critical as several countries continue to report isolated cases of wild poliovirus, especially in conflict and post-conflict zones.
ADFW 2025, hosted by ADGM with ADQ as headline partner, is shaping up to be one of the most influential gatherings of the global financial ecosystem. This year’s forum is expected to host presidents, CEOs, founders and chairpersons representing institutions that collectively manage over US$60 trillion in assets — over half of the world’s GDP.
Bill Gates’ participation underscores the UAE’s growing role in shaping international philanthropic dialogue and reaffirms Abu Dhabi’s positioning as a platform for advancing human-centric investment, innovation and sustainable development goals.
