The Indonesian government has extended an offer to Bill Gates—the founder of Microsoft and renowned philanthropist—to join the Advisory Board of the country’s sovereign investment agency, Danantara.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin (BGS) stated that the government plans to establish the Danantara Trust, an institution dedicated to managing assets and philanthropic grants. He believes Gates would be a suitable member given his long-standing involvement in global philanthropy.

“I hope, Mr. Bill, you can take a seat on the board alongside Mr. Ray Dalio, your friend. Both of you are already serving on China’s philanthropic board,” Budi said during a meeting with Bill Gates at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday, May 7.

Budi drew inspiration from Singapore’s Temasek Foundation, which created Temasek Trust to pool assets and donations from philanthropic sources.

He added that Indonesia’s philanthropic potential could actually reach US$30 billion or approximately IDR 495.8 trillion annually (based on an exchange rate of IDR 16,530 per US dollar). However, most Indonesian philanthropists tend to donate through institutions based overseas.

Budi attributed this trend to the lack of a trusted domestic institution to manage philanthropic assets and donations. Hence, he initiated the Danantara Trust and is seeking to persuade Gates to take part.

“Mr. Gates, we have a systematic management structure in place that can help convince these donors so they can start providing grants,” he remarked.

Danantara CEO Rosan Roeslani explained that the agency would allocate about 1% to 2.5% of its dividends to fund the Danantara Trust. He noted that an initial contribution of around US$100 million, or IDR 1.6 trillion, would be deposited.

“And over the next five to six years, looking at the financial projections, we’ve committed to contribute up to US$1 billion or IDR 16.5 trillion to the Danantara Trust Fund,” Rosan stated.

The Danantara management structure was officially announced on March 24. The Advisory Board includes several prominent global figures such as Ray Dalio, Jeffrey Sachs, F. Chapman Taylor, and Thaksin Shinawatra.