2015_Endeavor_Hero

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


Vicky Colbert honored with the Wise Prize: Watch the video here

“Without quality education, nothing can be achieved,” says Vicky Colbert, founder/director of Escuela Nueva, in a video honoring her selection as the 2013 recipient of the Wise Prize for Education. Colbert, who received the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership in 2011, was chosen because of her organization’s long efforts to improve education in Colbert’s native Colombia. Colbert received the award during the fifth World Innovation Summit for Education held in Qatar. The announcement of Colbert’s award also includes the following video:     RELATED LINKS: Pratham Books is a contender for a Google Impact Award For more on the World Innovation Summit for...

Pratham Books is a contender for the ‘final four’ for Google Impact Awards

Google’s Global Impact Awards are honoring the powerful ways that tech produces substantial, positive outcomes in the lives of communities around the world. A program related to Kravis Prize recipient Pratham is among 10 nominees for this year’s award as part of the Google Impact Challenge initiative. While three winners will be determined by a panel of judges, a fourth winner will be based on an internet-wide vote. The deadline for voting is October 30. Go here to cast your vote. The Global Impact Challenge is an award program providing help to Indian non-profits that are targeting some of that nation’s most serious problems. Among this year’s candidates are several employing digital tools to address situations including sanitation  in India’s slums, gender-based violence, and education in rural areas. Pratham Books, which fits under the umbrella of efforts by Pratham (recipient of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership in 2010), is under award consideration for its development of an easy access web platform to support children’s literacy throughout the country. According to their proposal, reading levels fall far below satisfactory standards — “Nearly 50% of Indian 5th graders currently read at a 2nd grade level” — and this dire problem is largely due to a lack of available age-appropriate reading materials. With the help of a Global Impact Award, Pratham Books will construct an open source website where children’s e-books can be created and existing children’s books from around the world can be translated into at least 25 languages. “The word Pratham means ‘first’ or ‘priority,’ and we think that having every child in school and learning well should be...

A ‘fierce’ new ambassador for Right To Play

Olympic gymnast Gabrielle Douglas and two fellow U.S. gymnasts have signed on as Athlete Ambassadors with Right To Play, an organization founded by Olympic speed skater Johann Olav Koss to help disadvantaged children around the world. Koss and his organization are this year’s recipient of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Nonprofit Leadership. Koss visited Claremont McKenna College in April to receive the award from its founders, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis ’67. Douglas, a member of “The Fierce Five” who won a team gold medal at the Summer Olympics held in London last year, will serve as a Right To Play ambassador along with Olympic gymnasts and medalists Jonathan Horton and Alicia Sacramone, Right To Play announced earlier this month in a press release. The announcement is part of a new, larger partnership between Right To Play and USA Gymnastics to bring the same kind of support to U.S. youth that Right To Play has been bringing to other countries since it was established in 2000. “There is no doubt in my mind that this partnership can make a positive difference in the lives of disadvantaged youth in the United States,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics.  “Gymnastics teaches the value of physical activity and many of the life skills needed to be healthy and achieve success.” Koss added that his organization is “honored” and “excited” about a new effort “bridging disadvantaged communities in the U.S. with opportunities to experience sport and play specifically through gymnastics.” The partnership is slated to extend through 2016. Douglas said she is excited to join Horton and Sacramone in inspiring children and...