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About Endeavor

Founded in 1997, Endeavor fosters economic growth in countries worldwide by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating high-impact entrepreneurs. Endeavor’s entrepreneurs lead fast-growing businesses that generate jobs in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. Endeavor provides its entrepreneurs with a network of seasoned business leaders who provide key ingredients to entrepreneurial success: mentorship, networks, strategic advice, and inspiration. Over the past 17 years, Endeavor Entrepreneurs have created more than 400,000 high quality jobs, directly reaching more than two million people across the world. Endeavor has achieved tangible results, with individuals working for Endeavor companies doubling their income over baseline or previous jobs, and Endeavor companies growing revenue 2.4 times faster than comparable firms over three years.

Current Operations of Endeavor

Endeavor is dedicated to high-impact entrepreneurship. Its main operations focus on identifying and supporting the continued growth of a select group of entrepreneurs, creating jobs, and adding revenues to foster entrepreneurship in those societies. Endeavor currently works in 21 countries across the world. In recent years, Endeavor’s operations have expanded into several countries; Endeavor launched in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Greece in 2012, Miami (US), Malaysia, and Morocco in 2013, and Peru and Spain in 2014.In 2011, Endeavor launched Endeavor Catalyst, a passive co-investment pool that uses donated funds to support Endeavor Entrepreneurs’ professional funding rounds and to provide funding for Endeavor’s growth and financial sustainability. Endeavor Catalyst has raised approximately $15 million to date and has made its first nine investments.

Approach and Distinguishing Features

Endeavor is an organization of, by, and for entrepreneurs. Endeavor believes that entrepreneurship is vital to economic growth and job creation, and recognizes the reality that entrepreneurs in growth markets face obstacles that inhibit successful scaling of businesses, such as limited management expertise, lack of role models, contacts, investors, etc. To this end, Endeavor provides immense support to rising entrepreneurs and acts as a springboard to catalyze their success with business establishment and job creation. Over 80% of Endeavor’s entrepreneurs give back to their local affiliates and commit to mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Endeavor’s entrepreneurs lead fast-growing, typically for-profit businesses that generate jobs and create revenues in growth markets. Endeavor looks for businesses with the potential to scale and become world-class ventures and industry leaders. Endeavor is distinct from many other organizations in its focus on high-growth, high-impact, for-profit companies that can scale. Academic research demonstrates that high-impact entrepreneurs generate a disproportionate number of jobs over other entrepreneurs.

2015 Kravis Prize


Pop musician Ryan Lewis’ story sheds light on m2m’s work

Along with the travels of Victoria Beckham to South Africa and her efforts to raise awareness about mother-to-child HIV transmission and the work of mothers2mothers, another figure in the world of pop culture and entertainment is also shedding light on this crucial topic. Musician and producer Ryan Lewis (who has teamed up with Macklemore to produce several hit songs) shares a deeply personal story that teaches the lesson that HIV transmission doesn’t occur only in the Third World: It can happen anywhere. It has happened to his own family. A segment airing on ABC’s Good Morning America describes the circumstances of Lewis’ mother, Julie, who has been HIV positive since receiving a blood transfusion in the 1980s. At the time, she was given 3-5 years to live. That segment, which is followed by a roundtable GMA discussion, includes Richard Besser, ABC News Chief Health and Medical Editor. Besser, whose brother Mitch is the founder of mothers2mothers, describes the work of m2m to George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts and the rest of the GMA cast. Watch video here:...

BRAC’s Abed joins Dalai Lama, Angelina Jolie, others in Fortune Top 50

Who are the world’s 50 greatest leaders, according to Fortune Magazine? Along with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and actress-activist Angelina Jolie, Fazle Abed has been honored as one of the world’s “50 greatest leaders” by the magazine for turning the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) into a major force for social change in the non-profit, social sector. Abed was awarded the second annual Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership in 2007 for his visionary work with BRAC and its expansion from serving the poor in northeastern Bangladesh to helping more than 130 million around the world. Fortune Magazine identified the 77-year-old Abed, who was knighted in 2010, as an inspiring figure who is “making the world better.” “After Bangladesh fought a war to become independent,” Fortune magazine announces, “Abed, 77, established the Brac to aid the rural poor, including 10 million returning refugees.” Abed (pictured above), according to the magazine report, is the lone Bangladeshi to make the top 50 list. Abed ranks at #32 on the Fortune list. Other figures included in the top 50 list are Pope Francis, investor Warren Buffett, and former U.S. president Bill Clinton. RELATED: BBVA Award goes to Pratham Nonprofit management: Focus on “funamentals, not fads”: Kravis Prize-related article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review...

BBVA goes to Pratham; Kravis Prize honors 10th recipient in its ninth year

Knowledge that can radically change lives is a potent form of knowledge that cuts across categories and barriers — that’s been the key to Pratham’s success for more than 20 years, and it’s also the reason why the Mumbai-based organization and 2010 Kravis Prize recipient has been selected for a 2013 Frontiers of Knowledge Award from  the BBVA Foundation. The BBVA Foundation, which serves as the charitable arm of the banking organizations Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria,  has announced the selection of eight 2013 laureates, including Pratham, which has been honored for “their originality, theoretical significance and ability to push back the frontiers of the known world.” The award includes a cash prize of €400,000 (approx. $570,000). While biologist Christopher Field was awarded for his work on climate change and British biochemist Adrian Bird for his discoveries in epigenetics, Pratham was honored for its educational work with disadvantaged children in the award category of “development cooperation.” “Pratham has expanded the scope of education in resource-constrained areas,” the BBVA jury announced in a prepared statement. “It has done so through two significant innovations: the creation of simple, accurate and reliable tools for communities to assess learning; and a process that uses scientific evidence to develop new cost-effective programs that drastically improve learning levels.” Though Pratham has been in operation in India since 1994, its profile outside the country remained relatively low until the awarding of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership in 2010. In the years since that award in recognition of the NGO’s work on improving literacy with programs such as Read India, Pratham has gone on to receive several more major international...