The Maser Foundation’s billion-dollar bet on public systems

For a man who built one of Africa’s fastest-rising business empires, Prateek Suri could have chosen the easier kind of generosity — the kind with ribbon cuttings, school walls bearing his name, and fast media applause. Instead, he chose the slower, less glamorous path: helping governments do their jobs better.
That’s the quiet rebellion behind the Maser Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Suri’s $5 billion Maser Group. Where most private donors build their own institutions, the Foundation embeds itself within public systems, funding state-led programs in education, health, women’s empowerment and youth development.
“The idea was never to build something parallel,” Suri said. “It was to strengthen what already serves the people.”
The logic is simple, even if the execution rarely is. By working through ministries, Maser trades visibility for permanence. Its funding model, co-managed with governments and community representatives, measures success not by how much Maser spends but by how much capacity local systems gain.
As Zhang Xue, the Foundation’s CFO, puts it, “Real philanthropy stands beside governments, not outside them. Our goal is to help institutions deliver dignity, not dependency.”

When Wealth Meets the State

The Maser Foundation was born from Suri’s conviction that wealth, to be meaningful, must have memory. After years of expanding Maser Group’s reach across logistics, real estate, and energy, he began searching for a form of impact that would outlive both himself and his companies.
“Wealth is only meaningful when it improves lives,” he said. “The Foundation exists to ensure that success is shared, and that the communities who supported our journey also benefit from it.”
Rather than writing cheques to isolated causes, Maser’s programmes work on two levels: funding infrastructure and training the people who will sustain it. A new school might feature solar classrooms and digital libraries, but also teachers trained to manage technology. A rural clinic might receive modern equipment — and administrators capable of maintaining it long after the Foundation steps back.
“Capacity building isn’t a workshop,” says media spokesman Vikram Singh. “It’s building confidence, competence and continuity.”

The System Behind the Giving

Each Foundation project is governed by a joint monitoring committee of Foundation officers, ministry representatives, and community members. Independent audits and transparent dashboards are standard practice — oversight as structure, not ceremony.
That methodical precision mirrors Suri’s business instincts. “Philanthropy must be measurable,” he said. “Otherwise it becomes theatre.”
It’s an approach that treats generosity with the same rigour as investment. But instead of dividends, it seeks durability.
Taking the Slow Road on Purpose
Working through governments is never simple. It can be slow, bureaucratic and politically unpredictable. But Suri believes that’s where real impact lives.
“Building our own schools or hospitals would be easier,” he said. “But strengthening existing systems ensures that progress continues long after we’re gone.”
For the Foundation, patience is both method and message — a way of showing that real change doesn’t need to be branded to be lasting.
“Real change happens when the system itself becomes stronger,” Singh said. “We’re not here to own the solution; we’re here to make sure it works.”

From Enterprise to Empathy

Suri is best known as the founder and chief executive of Maser Group, a $5-billion conglomerate spanning infrastructure, logistics, mining and real estate. He is also the richest Indian in Africa, with an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion.
Through the Maser Foundation, he is now applying the same discipline that built his fortune to the task of deepening public trust. Its initiatives span education access, digital literacy, women’s empowerment and preventive healthcare — all guided by one principle: empower individuals, strengthen institutions, and build ecosystems that outlast donors.
As Zhang Xue puts it, “Philanthropy is not about giving — it’s about enabling. When people rise with capacity, nations rise with confidence.”

A Harder Empire to Construct

The Maser Foundation’s work rarely makes headlines. Its progress unfolds quietly within ministries, classrooms, and clinics — in systems that must function long after applause fades. But for Suri, that’s the whole point.
“The easy things don’t last,” he said. “We’re not trying to be visible. We’re trying to be useful.”
If Maser Group was about building markets, the Maser Foundation is about building trust — and that may turn out to be the harder empire to construct.