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

Endeavor

Endeavor fosters economic advancement in growth markets by launching high-impact entrepreneurs.

FAST FACTS

400,000+

high-quality jobs created by Endeavor companies

2 million

people impacted directly by Endeavor companies

97%

of Endeavor companies are still in operation, compared to most entrepreneurial ventures in the same markets, which close within 42 months

Sakena Yacoobi at Princeton and in the Huff Post

Sakena Yacoobi at Princeton and in the Huff Post

by | Jun 18, 2013 | AIL, Education, Female Empowerment, Sakena Yacoobi

Sakena Yacoobi, Founder and Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning, was among an esteemed group of recipients who were presented earlier this month with honorary degrees during the 266th Commencement Ceremony at Princeton University. Yacoobi, who was selected for her efforts to educate women and children in Afghanistan with her organization AIL, was joined on the Princeton stage by novelist Toni Morrison and architect Frank Gehry, among several others. Also in June, the Huffington Post featured a piece by Sakena Yacoobi entitled, “Literacy and Networking for Afghan Women Through Texting.” Yacoobi writes about the lack of literacy in Afghanistan, especially among women. The article documents the efforts of her organization to empower women through education and to improve conditions in Afghanistan as a whole. Sakena writes that the organization could be used as model by other nations that wish to accelerate literacy education and provides a network for Afghan women to build relationships and foster more interaction and dialogue in their society. In the West, we take this sense of interconnectedness for granted, but for the women of Afghanistan, Yacoobi says, it is an exciting, new development:  “The women of Afghanistan become energized by learning and they are also excited to have a way to communicate with one another. This program could be used in other nations to help accelerate literacy education, but the impact that access to mobile phones and knowledge of how to use them has on Afghan women is far greater than just accelerating literacy. The women can build and maintain relationships with other women to whom they are not related, something which is incredibly difficult in Afghan society....

Women Thrive Worldwide and Huff Post highlight FAWE’s work

by | Jun 5, 2013 | FAWE, Female Empowerment, Kravis Prize

The Forum for Women Educationalists (FAWE) gives attention to “girls everybody else has dropped”—that was the message of the honorary secretary of FAWE’s executive board, Christine Dranzoa, in a recent interview with Women Thrive Worldwide, a key partner organization. The interview outlines the major issues facing women and girls in Uganda and traces Dranzoa’s involvement in FAWE, which is a past recipient of the Kravis Prize. When asked how FAWE makes a difference for girls, Dranzoa, who is also a professor in her native Uganda, gave this eloquent response: “Over 20,000 girls have gained access to education. Without, 20,000 plus would have gone another way. FAWE has impacted over 15,000 girls to get integrated into science, mathematics and technology – or engineering for that matter. FAWE has picked girls everybody else has dropped. Some of the FAWE beneficiaries are now medical doctors, lawyers, engineers serving their families and communities effectively. FAWE has transformed families who were desperate to see one kid get an education at higher or basic levels. FAWE has transformed the thinking of so many governments.”   Also in May, the Huffington Post published an interview and profile of Oley Dibba-Wadda, FAWE’s executive director, by Augusta Thomson, who’s a student at Oxford University. The interview focuses on Oley’s personal journey, vision for FAWE, and her belief in the transformative power of identity. At the end of the interview, Oley shared her personal insight into how she relates to her identity as an African woman.  “For me, as an African woman I believe in an identity. I believe in who I am, where I come from, and what...

Sakena Yacoobi on expectant mothers; Pratham gets a boost in Houston

by | May 2, 2013 | AIL, Johann Olav Koss, Pratham, Right 2 Play

“Maternal mortality is still a huge problem in Afghanistan, where being pregnant and giving birth are a risky business,” writes Sakena Yacoobi on the interactive women’s empowerment site, World Pulse. As executive director of the Afghan Institute of Learning, Yacoobi was invited by the media site to describe  how AIL’s workshop for expectant mothers is combating misinformation and “old wives’ tales,” and encouraging more women to receive clinic care. Since the first workshops started in 2010, Yacoobi notes vastly better results in safe, healthy births for both mother and infant. She ends her report on an optimistic note about the power of education and the receptiveness of Afghan women: [I]t shows the situation within our culture is not intractable; change and improvement in outcome is possible. Afghan women just need the opportunity of education; they will seize the opportunity and then they will take responsibility to look after themselves and their children in the best way possible. There is no uphill battle to be fought in persuading a change in attitude; it is a question of access to knowledge which is the catalyst for a shift in what is normal behavior. **** **** Pratham co-founder Madhav Chavan finished a 9-city tour of the U.S. with a stop in Houston for the Pratham Annual Gala, held at the Hilton Americas Hotel in downtown Houston. His American travels included a visit in April to CMC  to attend ceremonies for 2013 Kravis Prize recipient Johann Olav Koss. His Claremont trip included participating in a lively panel discussion with other past Kravis Prize recipients (Pratham received the Prize in 2010). In Houston, Chavan...